Free throws the difference as Alisal tops San Benito 58-55
Tuesday night
HOLLISTER
San Benito’s Eric Elayda, Tyler Rickard and Kyle Vallejo seemed to come up with the clutch 3-pointer or the big three-point play in key moments Tuesday night at home to Alisal.
But the Haybalers as a whole couldn’t prevent the Trojans from converting, of all things, those pesky one-pointers.
Yes, the game was decided by free throws.
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.
“[Sosa] went to the free throw line too many times,” the coach added. “Last time we kind of controlled them somewhat and they didn’t get that many free throws. This time they got a bunch of free throws and it hurt.”
Alisal (6-5 TCAL, 18-7 overall) converted almost every one of their made baskets from the paint as well, and Sosa managed to tie the game at 52-all with a jumper inside and 2:31 remaining.
Elayda drove the lane on the ensuing possession, though, and picked up a three-point play when he made the layup then sunk the and-one free throw, giving the ‘Balers a 55-52 lead.
But San Benito, which had led by as many as five points in the final period, went cold for the remaining two minutes and 20 seconds of the fourth quarter. They committed two turnovers in the last two minutes, and Alisal finished the game on a 6-0 run, all of which came from the free throw line.
Able to hit the trey when necessary for much of the game – they hit five total Tuesday – San Benito’s final 3-point attempt in the game went wide.
“In the fourth quarter again, we turned the ball over when we shouldn’t have,” said Becerra, whose ‘Balers had five turnovers in the second half, all in the fourth quarter. “We turned the ball over at the wrong time.”
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 put them in an unfortunate situation regarding the seeding process.
A win would have supplied San Benito a 6- or 7-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.
“This was big for us,” Becerra said.
San Benito has been streaky this season, to say the least. The loss marks the second straight defeat suffered by San Benito, which won five straight prior to that. Certainly not looking to back into the playoffs, by any means, the ‘Balers will have one more chance to finish the regular season on a strong note when they visit Salinas Thursday at 7 p.m.
On Tuesday, Kyle Vallejo led San Benito with 14 points and six rebounds, while Elayda contributed 11 points off the bench. Rickard finished with 10 points.
The ‘Balers jumped out to a 14-8 first-quarter lead after Alisal opened the game shooting just 2 of 11 from the field. But the Trojans erased the gap in the second quarter when they showed a 2-2-1 zone press and outscored San Benito 21-12.
Alisal, in fact, followed their dismal shooting performance from the first quarter with a 10 of 13 showing in the second, closing out the first half on a 12-2 spurt.
“The problem in the first half was that we weren’t hustling back on defense,” Becerra said. “I don’t think the press bothered us that much.”
With just eight free throw attempts to their name at halftime, though, Alisal opened the third quarter by routinely drawing the shooting foul, making 9 of 10 from the line in the period. San Benito managed to linger, however, and eventually grabbed a 44-42 lead by the end of the quarter after Elayda and Rickard made back-to-back 3-pointers.
In the final stanza, though, Alisal pulled away late, one point at a time.
The Trojans had just four different scorers in the win, with Gustavo Angulo depositing 20 points and Jordan Ramirez supplying 10.
Notes:
San Benito shot 43 percent (21 of 49) from the field, 8 of 12 at the free throw line … Alisal was 46 percent (18 of 39) from the field … The ‘Balers committed 13 turnovers to Alisal’s nine.
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
ALIS 8 21 13 16 58
SANB 14 12 18 11 55
Alisal (58): J. Sosa 5-8 16-18 26, J. Ramirez 4-10 2-5 10, R. Camacho 1-3 0-0 2, G. Angulo 8-16 3-4 20.
Three-point goals: G. Angulo 1.
San Benito (55): J. Canchola 1-6 0-0 3, I. Corral 2-5 0-0 4, E. Elayda 4-8 1-1 11, D. Zanella 2-5 1-2 5, K. Vallejo 6-12 2-3 14, T. Rickard 2-6 4-4 10, T. Von Urff 4-7 0-2 8.
Three-point goals: J. Canchola 1, E. Elayda 2, T. Rickard 2.
