Chieftains take 72-43 win over San Benito, take possession of
first place in league
Salinas
It is certainly a night San Benito would like to forget, as it was certainly not San Benito’s night.
After falling to Palma 43-36 on Jan. 10, the San Benito boys basketball team had rifled off five straight wins in the Tri-County Athletic League, and sat tied with the Chieftains atop the latest league standings.
Both teams entered with matching 6-1 records, and Wednesday’s game in Salinas would supply the victor with sole possession of first place in the TCAL.
But Palma, the defending league champions, quickly took the ‘Balers out of their game Wednesday, and claimed the top spot in the league with a 72-43 triumph.
The Chieftains used a pressure defense to force 25 San Benito turnovers – 15 in the first half – and out-rebounded the ‘Balers to score countless second-chance opportunities.
“They were just a little more physical than we were today,” coach John Becerra said. “It was more like, we were giving up inside shots for layups, and the rebounds, for sure. It hurts when they do that.
“The turnovers weren’t great, but it was the rebounding and the driving layups that hurt.”
Palma’s strong offensive rebounding also took San Benito out of their transition offense.
The ‘Balers are now 6-2 in the TCAL.
“They were just playing really physical and that’s pretty much it,” said post player Dominic Zanella, who dropped five points Wednesday. “They were getting rebounds a lot and we didn’t box out well. If they get the rebound against us, they just kick it out and go.”
The main beneficiary of Palma’s offensive rebounding was center Clark Fox, whose 24 points led all scorers. Fox was 8 of 12 from the field, 8 of 8 from the line.
Palma set the tone early, and although San Benito trailed by just a 19-14 margin after the first period, the Chieftains nearly put the game away in the second stanza by outscoring San Benito 23-7.
Palma led 42-21 at the break.
“Their pressure defense led to a lot of turnovers,” said forward Brian Haggett, who had seven points in the contest. “We did get easy shots but we missed them.”
The ‘Balers shot 40 percent (16 of 40) from the field, 50 percent (4 of 8) from the line.
Palma, on the other hand, shot 51 percent (27 of 53) and 84 percent (16 of 19) from the charity stripe. Said Becerra, “Every shot they took went in. They didn’t miss.”
Marty Bueno led San Benito with 11 points, three assists and three steals, while Tyler Ruiz added seven points.
Palma coach Paul Alioto said the game plan coming in was to control Bueno and find a way to involve John Bonano early, who had 13 points for Palma, 11 in the first quarter.
“No. 1 is you’ve got to control Marty and he was great for them with 11 points in the first period,” Alioto said. “We rebounded pretty well again tonight … We finally shot the ball well, of what I thought we were capable of all year.”
The loss puts the ‘Balers in second place and one game behind Palma. Both teams have four games remaining.
On Friday, San Benito will play at Gilroy (1-6), which lost to Palma 55-45 on Monday. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
“It was for first place, but there’s still a chance,” Haggett said. “They have the rest of their schedule too.
“We’ve got Gilroy on Friday. We need to come out ready for that one.”
Team 1 2 3 4 F
SB 14 7 16 6 43
PAL 19 23 20 10 72
SB (43) – Bueno 4-7 0-0 11, Canchola 2-2 0-0 6, Haggett 3-8 1-2 7, Pina 0-0 1-2 1, Ruiz 3-9 1-2 7, Silva 1-3 0-0 3, Von Urff 1-5 0-0 3, Zanella 2-2 1-2 5.
Three-point goals: Bueno 3, Canchola 2, Silva 1, Von Urff 1.
Palma (72) – Benavente 0-1 1-2 1, Bonano 5-11 2-2 13, Broom 1-1 0-0 2, Calder 1-2 0-0 2, Fales 1-2 2-2 4, Fox 8-12 8-8 24, Marcroft 0-1 1-2 1, Moreno 1-5 0-0 2, Morris 6-10 0-0 13, Na. Ramirez 2-3 0-0 4, Ni. Ramirez 0-0 2-2 2, Torres 2-4 0-1 4.
Three-point goals: Bonano 1, Na. Ramirez 1.
JV Note:
The San Benito junior varsity team had a chance to tie Palma Wednesday in the closing seconds, but the Chieftains outlasted the ‘Balers 53-50 in the end.
Coach Mitch Burley said his JV’s trailed 32-14 at the half.
“We started coming back,” said Burley, whose squad was down by 11 with less than two minutes remaining.
San Benito, though, his four straight 3-pointers in the waning minutes to cut the deficit to just three.
“We had a last-second shot with a chance to tie and it didn’t go in,” Burley said. “It was a very exciting game.”
The ‘Balers will play at Gilroy Friday. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m.
Frosh Note:
The San Benito freshmen squad remained undefeated in the Tri-County Athletic League when they routed Palma 56-25 Wednesday in Salinas.
The ‘Balers are 8-0 in the TCAL, 18-4 overall.
“It’s just an overall good bunch of kids,” coach Gilbert Soza said. “Holding a team to 25 points is good on any level.”
The ‘Balers will play at Gilroy Friday. Tip-off is at 4 p.m.
