Chieftains win 61-41 after pulling away in second half
Hollister – The shift in momentum was almost immediate.
Trailing by two with the clock running down in the second quarter, San Benito’s Marty Bueno stripped the ball away and it shot loose toward the opposite baseline before going out of bounds to allow Palma to retain possession.
The Chieftains followed with a baseball pass to Orlando Johnson, who calmly knocked down a 3-pointer to extend the halftime lead to five and Palma never looked back in a 61-41 win over the Haybalers in Tri-County Athletic League boys basketball action Wednesday.
San Benito (8-14, 4-4 TCAL) provided a early challenge for first-place Palma (19-2, 8-0) – leading throughout the first quarter and staying close during the second – but couldn’t overcome the toughness of the Chieftains to deliver the upset.
“They get you tired because they’re very athletic and well-built,” ‘Balers coach John Becerra said of Palma. “They wear you down. They’ve got good guards, good forwards, good everything.”
While San Benito was looking to make a statement with a win, the ‘Balers showed some fight despite not being able to stay with Palma for the entire 32 minutes.
“It’s automatic for us to come and do that every game,” Becerra said.
Marty Bueno had the hot hand in the early going to put San Benito on top. He drained a trey and added a short jumper from near the free-throw line to give the ‘Balers a 5-0 lead.
Jonathan Benavente answered that with five quick points of his own to tie the game but another 5-0 spurt by San Benito gave it a 10-5 lead.
The ‘Balers had a three-point advantage late in the quarter, but a putback by Clark Fox allowed Palma to pull to within 12-11 at the end of the first period.
San Benito’s Todd Janisch, who was limited to 10 points, hit a jumper to start the second quarter, but a 10-0 run by the Chieftains gave them their first lead.
Another jumper by Janisch with 56 seconds left in the half made it a two-point game and the teams exchanged a pair of free-throws to make it 28-26.
That’s when Palma turned what nearly became a game-tying turnover into a Johnson 3-pointer and the ‘Balers never got closer than five the rest of the way.
The Loyola Marymount-bound Johnson finished with game-highs of 16 points and 11 rebounds. John Bonano had 10 points.
Bueno was held scoreless after his five quick points. Kevin Medeiros had a solid game with eight points and Sterling Wilson pocketed six, including going 4-of-5 from the free-throw line.
San Benito dropped into a tie for fourth – a half-game behind Alisal and idle Gilroy – with the loss. The ‘Balers host the Mustangs at 7pm Friday and will look for a repeat of their 70-62 overtime win at Gilroy in their first meeting.
Becerra is confident his team will stay on an even keel for what’s expected to be an emotional atmosphere, but added that Gilroy provides a stiff challenge.
“We never get too high or too low, so I don’t think that’s going to be a problem,” Becerra said. “The problem is Gilroy. They’re playing a lot better now. I think we woke them up and they’re not happy about losing to us.”
