San Benito High boys’ basketball
Visiting Alisal pocketed more free throws than field goals, post
player Jonathan Sosa nearly exceeded his scoring average from the
charity stripe alone, and the Trojans picked up a big win Tuesday
when they defeated San Benito 58-55 at Mattson Gym in
Hollister.
Sosa, who averages 17.95 points per game, dropped 26 on the
Balers behind a 16 of 18 performance at the line, while Alisal was
21 of 27 for the game.
”
We played man-to-man like we did before, but we just didn’t do
as good of a job this time,
”
said San Benito head coach John Becerra, referring to his team’s
60-52 victory over Alisal on Jan. 22.
On Tuesday, Kyle Vallejo led San Benito with 14 points and six
rebounds, while Eric Elayda contributed 11 points off the bench.
Tyler Rickard finished with 10 points.
The loss is San Benito’s second straight – the team lost to
Palma 54-51 last Thursday – although the Balers (5-6 TCAL, 13-12
overall) are already assured a .500 record, which is the main
criteria for qualifying to the postseason. Tuesday’s loss, however,
put the Balers in an unfortunate situation regarding the seeding
process.
A win would have supplied San Benito a sixth or seventh seed in
the upcoming Central Coast Section Division I playoffs, Becerra
said, and most likely a home game in the first round.
Now, the Balers could very well be traveling in the first
round.
San Benito wrapped up the regular season on Thursday at Salinas,
although that game was held after The Pinnacle’s press time.
San Benito High boys’ basketball
Visiting Alisal pocketed more free throws than field goals, post player Jonathan Sosa nearly exceeded his scoring average from the charity stripe alone, and the Trojans picked up a big win Tuesday when they defeated San Benito 58-55 at Mattson Gym in Hollister.
Sosa, who averages 17.95 points per game, dropped 26 on the Balers behind a 16 of 18 performance at the line, while Alisal was 21 of 27 for the game.
“We played man-to-man like we did before, but we just didn’t do as good of a job this time,” said San Benito head coach John Becerra, referring to his team’s 60-52 victory over Alisal on Jan. 22.
On Tuesday, Kyle Vallejo led San Benito with 14 points and six rebounds, while Eric Elayda contributed 11 points off the bench. Tyler Rickard finished with 10 points.
The loss is San Benito’s second straight – the team lost to Palma 54-51 last Thursday – although the Balers (5-6 TCAL, 13-12 overall) are already assured a .500 record, which is the main criteria for qualifying to the postseason. Tuesday’s loss, however, put the Balers in an unfortunate situation regarding the seeding process.
A win would have supplied San Benito a sixth or seventh seed in the upcoming Central Coast Section Division I playoffs, Becerra said, and most likely a home game in the first round.
Now, the Balers could very well be traveling in the first round.
San Benito wrapped up the regular season on Thursday at Salinas, although that game was held after The Pinnacle’s press time.
San Benito High girls’ soccer
After defeating league rival Gilroy for the first time in more than four years last Friday, the Baler girls’ soccer team was left out of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs on Saturday for the first time since 2006.
“Our win against Gilroy gave us a huge boost in points,” San Benito head coach Ben Alvarez said regarding Friday’s 1-0 victory over the Mustangs, the lone goal deposited by Hannah Cobb. “But unfortunately, it was not enough.
“That was an outstanding win for us. To not get in, that’s tough.”
The seedings were announced on Saturday, and San Benito, which finished in third place in the Tri-County Athletic League and had a chance to qualify for the postseason as an at-large bid, fell just short.
The Balers (7-2-3 TCAL, 15-3-4) compiled 40.5 points as an at-large bid, and needed 45 points in order to crack into the Division I bracket, Alvarez said.
Teams generate points based on wins, ties and losses over the final 18 games of the season, with more points awarded to matches played against league champions and “A” league opponents.
The TCAL, though, is a “B” league.
San Benito High girls’ basketball
The San Benito High girls’ basketball team held Notre Dame to just seven field goals for the second time this season on Friday night in Salinas, where the Balers jumped out to a 34-6 halftime lead en route to an easy 47-20 victory.
Vanessa Farias scored 12 points and Megan Halstead added 10 for San Benito, which improved to 9-1 in the Tri-County Athletic League. San Benito’s game at Alisal Wednesday was held after The Pinnacle’s press time.
It was San Benito’s defense that led the way last Friday, though, holding Notre Dame to just two points in the first quarter and holding leading scorer Shanae Gasperson (14 ppg) to just two field goals in the game.
“Our defensive effort was tremendous,” San Benito head coach David Kaplansky said. “The girls rotated excellently on Gasperson. We just did a great job of keeping the ball out of her hands.”
San Benito High boys’ soccer
An even first half turned into a blowout Thursday afternoon, as Gilroy High’s boys’ soccer team dominated rival San Benito in the second half to win 5-1.
Hollister’s lone goal was pocketed by junior forward Oscar Estrada.
The Haybalers finish the season at 2-8-2 in the Tri-County Athletic League, 5-12-2 overall.
