‘Balers’ victory over Sobrato clinches CCS spot
Hollister – With their 54-49 victory over the Sobrato Bulldogs in their last home Tri-County Athletic League game of the season and on senior night, the San Benito Haybalers boys basketball team ensured that they will qualify for the Central Coast Section playoffs.
The ‘Balers (12-12, 6-4 TCAL) defeated the Bulldogs (7-14, 3-6 TCAL) despite finding themselves in foul trouble early with their aggressive defensive play.
“Overall we played ok,” said San Benito coach John Becerra. “Sobrato has a good team with some talented kids. This win is great because it assures that we’ll qualify for CCS and that’s always exciting.”
Forward Todd Janisch led San Benito with 16 points, five rebounds and one steal for the ‘Balers in the win and point guard Vince Bautista provided a spark for San Benito with 10 points, including two 3-pointers, one steal and one rebound.
“Vince Bautista did an outstanding job at point guard,” said Becerra.
“I don’t think he missed a shot all night and he played good defense against Mubarik Abdullahi.”
San Benito’s aggressive style of defense earned them a lot of fouls early and put Sobrato in the bonus by the end of the first quarter. Fortunately for San Benito they have a deep bench and were able to substitute players when the personal fouls started piling up. At the end of the first, the ‘Balers narrowly led 14-12.
San Benito extended its lead to 26-22 at the half. The Bulldogs’ defense kept them in the game, as they were having trouble running their offensive game. Abdullahi and Marqus Crawford kept Sobrato close by hitting their free throws and forcing steals.
“We really struggled and did not play good basketball as a team,” said Bulldog coach Lawrence Crawford. “We ran no offense. Everything is a struggle. We have to battle for every single score. When you have to work that hard for baskets, it’s a recipe for failure.”
In the second half, San Benito kept up its aggressive defense and were rewarded with Sobrato’s inability to stop the ‘Baler offense.
Center Dean Wilkins dominated on the offensive and defensive boards, pulling in nine rebounds and finishing with eight points.
In the fourth quarter San Benito opened up an 11 point lead over Sobrato, 50-39, but the Bulldogs capitalized on their free throw attempts and pulled to within three points, 50-47, with 27 seconds left in the game.
Janisch shut the door on the Bulldogs by hitting four free throws down the stretch to give the ‘Balers the 54-49 win.
San Benito has two TCAL games on the road to finish up the season. The ‘Balers face the upstart Salinas Cowboys on Friday at 7pm in Salinas.
“We’re going to do the same thing we do everyday,” said Becerra of San Benito’s final two games. “We’re going to keep working to make sure we execute properly.”
