Top-seeded Piedmont Hills uses big first quarter to defeat
Haybalers 52-37 Saturday in the quarterfinal round of the Central
Coast Section Division I playoffs
SAN JOSE
Despite graduating 11 seniors from last year’s 20-9 team, a team that finished its season in the quarterfinal round of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs, the San Benito Haybalers were right back in the same exact place on Saturday.
“Bottom line, they battled,” San Benito head coach John Becerra said. “They really worked hard.”
And they nearly pulled an upset against top-seeded Piedmont Hills.
But after the Pirates opened the game with a 19-8 first quarter lead, the Haybalers were forced to play catch-up. Switching out of a zone defense in the first, San Benito played man for the remaining three quarters and kept pace with Piedmont Hills until the very end.
But the 11-point lead through the first eight minutes of regulation proved to be enough for the Pirates, which advanced to the CCS semifinals with a 52-37 victory at Independence High in San Jose.
“It was just the zone and they were able to penetrate,” Becerra said. “But once we went man, I thought we did a tremendous job.
“It just shows the growth. Toward the end of the season, we really couldn’t man anybody. Now we’re great. But those are things that you can second-guess yourself on.”
Blessed with a pair of deep threats in Anthony Cuellar and Alex Santo – who combined for five of the Pirates’ six 3-pointers – as well as 6-foot-5 post Nake Dhillon, Piedmont Hills capitalized on San Benito’s zone in the first quarter by either nailing the trey or pocketing the put-back.
“They kept getting a lot of rebounds, easy rebounds,” senior Tim Von Urff said. “That’s what killed us. That’s why we were down by so many in the first quarter.”
But the switch to man allowed the ‘Balers to at least keep pace with Piedmont. Trailing 30-18 at halftime and 38-29 through three quarters, San Benito cut the Pirates’ lead to just eight points with 5:19 remaining after Tyler Rickard sunk a 3-pointer from the corner.
Rickard led the ‘Balers with 14 points.
“We had to adjust to the physicality of the game, and once we adjusted, we held their scoring,” said Rickard, who hit three 3-pointers in the game. “But it was a tough loss.”
After a few missed jumpers, San Benito was forced to foul and put the Pirates on the line. Although it was a smart decision – Piedmont Hills was 14 of 31 from the free-throw line – the Pirates’ lead was too great.
Piedmont Hills shot 12 of 21 from the stripe in the final stanza.
“I think we finished good, especially with three seniors on the team,” said senior Jason Canchola, who scored three points in the loss. “We played a No. 1 seed and we surprised them, I’m sure.”
San Benito junior Kyle Vallejo finished with six points, although Pirates Santo, Cuellar and Damon Bates each finished with 10 points apiece to lead Piedmont Hills.
The man-defense worked wonders on post player Dhillon, though. The 6-foot-5 center scored all six of his points on 3 of 5 shooting in the first quarter, but was held in check for the remainder of the game by ‘Balers Dominic Zanella and Isidro Corral.
“They were fast, big and really strong,” Zanella said. “We couldn’t do anything (in the first quarter). But once we went to man, we did way better.”
Piedmont Hills had perhaps the most difficulty in the third when it turned very much into a drive-and-kick team. San Benito, meanwhile, got big 3-pointers from Canchola and Cooper Sepulveda, and even a three-point play from Corral, and outscored the Pirates 11-8 in the period.
“It’s just tough to come back,” Becerra said. “After that first quarter, it was a great game.”
Coming off a 63-60 upset victory over No. 8 Independence last Thursday, San Benito finishes its season at 15-13 overall.
“It’s over. It’s the last time,” said the senior Zanella. “It’s hard to believe, but it had to come to an end.”
“I’m happy we got this far,” added Von Urff. “I didn’t expect we were going to. But we came together as a team throughout the season and kept getting better and better.”
For a team that started 0-4 in the Tri-County Athletic League, finishing the season in the Division I quarterfinals should speak volumes.
“After our first (league) win, we just got on a streak,” Canchola said. “Everything was possible.”
Notes:
San Benito shot 27 percent (14 of 51) from the field and 4 of 6 from the line … The ‘Balers had 12 turnovers … Piedmont Hills shots 42 percent (16 of 38) from the field … The Pirates had 13 turnovers.
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
SB 8 10 11 8 37
PH 19 11 8 14 52
San Benito (37): J. Hunt 1-2 0-0 2, J. Canchola 1-7 0-0 3, I. Corral 2-3 1-1 5, E. Elayda 0-2 2-2 2, C. Sepulveda 1-1 0-0 3, T. Rickard 5-11 1-2 14, K. Vallejo 3-9 0-1 6, D. Zanella 1-10 0-0 2.
Three-point goals: J. Canchola 1, C. Sepulveda 1, T. Rickard 3.
Piedmont Hills (52): A. Santo 2-4 4-8 10, D. Bates 3-7 4-5 10, M. Greer 2-2 0-0 5, A. Cuellar 3-8 1-4 10, M. Valderrama 2-3 2-4 6, R. Staden 1-9 3-4 5, N. Dhillon 3-5 0-0 6.
Three-point goals: A. Santo 2, M. Greer 1, A. Cuellar 3.
