‘Balers start slow, finish strong in 53-47 victory against
Milpitas
HOLLISTER
Some of them are not household names just yet, but each victory will certainly help go about changing that.
The San Benito Haybalers, which lost 10 players from last season’s 20-win team, took step one toward making a name for itself on Tuesday when it downed a visiting Milpitas squad 53-47 at Mattson Gym in Hollister.
Dominic Zanella, one of just three returnees for the ‘Balers, had a team-high 15 points on 7 of 10 shooting and pulled down 11 boards for a double-double performance.
None may have been bigger than the four offensive rebounds the 6-foot-4 senior corralled in the waning minutes of what was a close but sloppy opening night of basketball.
Up by just seven points with two and a half minutes left in regulation, Zanella’s presence under the basket staved off any last-minute Trojan comeback as he scored seven of his 15 points in the fourth quarter.
“At the beginning, we weren’t used to the way they were playing,” Zanella said. “They were being more physical.
“Everyone was a little nervous.”
Head coach John Becerra said it wasn’t a bad performance for a first game, although the first half was noticeably “ragged” for both teams.
“We were taking shots too quickly and were impatient,” Becerra said. “It was more us. We were going down and taking shots too quickly.”
The ‘Balers trailed early and often, and despite 3 of 15 shooting from the field in the first quarter and 6 of 30 at the half – just 20 percent through the first two quarters – San Benito somehow managed to trail Milpitas by a narrow 19-17 margin at the break.
In fact, the ‘Balers didn’t grab the lead until Tyler Rickard drove in for a lay-up off a Milpitas turnover with one minute remaining in the third quarter. Rickard’s basket gave San Benito a 33-32 lead.
“In the second half, we were passing more,” Becerra said. “We still took a lot of shots, but now we were passing comfortably, more patiently, and I thought that was the difference.”
Although the Trojans reclaimed a narrow edge heading into the final stanza, Darin Gillies’ jumper in the paint tied it at 35-all early in the fourth, and Eric Elayda’s ensuing trey supplied the ‘Balers with a three-point cushion they never relinquished.
San Benito outscored Milpitas 20-12 in the fourth quarter, while Elayda finished with 12 points.
“We settled down more and ran our plays,” Zanella said. “We were able to adjust to their pressure.”
Kyle Vallejo had 11 points on the night behind a 7 of 10 performance from the free-throw line.
After shooting 20 percent from the field in the first half, the ‘Balers shot 52 percent (14 of 27) in the third and fourth quarters, and forced 11 of Milpitas’ 20 turnovers in the second half as well.
Milpitas, which lost to San Benito 56-55 in last year’s season opener, may have been without some players, however. During postgame interviews, several Trojans asked whether or not the ‘Balers dressed any football players. Milpitas just wrapped up its football season last weekend in the Central Coast Section Open Division playoffs, and those players more than likely did not dress for the basketball team on Tuesday.
Nevertheless, San Benito improves to 1-0. They will host Pacific Grove on Monday at Mattson Gym.
Notes: San Benito shot 20 of 57 (35 percent) from the field in the game. Milpitas was 18 of 46 (39 percent) … The ‘Balers were 10 of 17 (59 percent) from the free-throw line as a team, while the Trojans were 8 of 12 (66 percent) … San Benito committed 14 turnovers … The Haybalers beat Pacific Grove last year on the road, 70-53.
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
ML 12 7 16 12 47
SB 6 11 16 20 53
SB (53) – Canchola 4-10 0-0 9, Elayda 4-19 2-2 12, Gillies 1-2 0-1 2, Rickard 2-6 0-0 4, Vallejo 2-8 7-10 11, Zanella 7-10 1-4 15.
Three-point goals: Canchola 1, Elayda 2.
