GILROY — It’s rare that a preseason game bares so much significance. But for the seniors of Christopher and Gilroy High Schools, this was one of the biggest games of the year.
The Cougars and Mustangs met in a crosstown clash Thursday at Gilroy High, with the Cougars picking up their third straight win over the Mustangs, 74-55.
It was the final time senior Shane Suttles would play his Gilroy counterparts and he certainly made the most of it. Suttles led the team with 23 points, adding six rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
“It was our last time playing Gilroy versus Christopher, so it was exciting to get to play against our friends our senior year,” he said. “It was good to face them for the last time.”
The crowd at Gilroy High was fired up on both sides, adding fuel to the benches. After jumping out to a 22-10 lead after the first, Christopher saw Gilroy closing in as both teams scored 15 points in the second — including a combined five 3-pointers.
Gilroy cut Christopher’s lead to 37-25 and carried that momentum into halftime, outscoring the Cougars 21-19 in the third quarter. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, they seemed to run out of gas in the final frame, allowing Christopher 10 unanswered points to be outscored 18-9.
Christopher was also able to win the battle at the net, pulling down 23 balls to Gilroy’s 16.
“We had our runs, we just turned the ball over and lost the rebound battle — that just doesn’t help,” Gilroy coach Abrem Estorga said. “That’s probably the best I’ve seen Christopher play all year. They stepped up to the challenge on the night that it counted.”
Both teams were letting the 3-point shots fly and combined for 21 in the game. Gilroy’s Travis Moulden led all shooters with four 3-pointers in the game and led the Mustangs with 16 points.
“It was really frustrating, the last two years this has happened. I feel like we prepared really well and didn’t show what we could do and I think it was a poor game by us,” Moulden said. “I try to do anything I can to keep us in it. At times, I kept us out of it, but my shots were falling today and I just did whatever I could to help.”
Christopher’s Evan Shapiro had three 3s of his own, part of his 19-point performance for the Cougars. Chris Chang also scored three 3-pointers for Gilroy which accounted for his nine points in the game. Moulden and Chang combined for seven of the Mustangs 12 3-point shots, a number which Christopher coach Eric Davis said could’ve been a lot higher had it not been for the Cougars’ zone defense.
“The zone worked for us; Gilroy is a good team,” Davis said. “They’re tough and they shoot the ball really well. Our length, I think, in the zone was able to give them some trouble. Our zone really gave us a shot and held their shooting down. That was our goal was to limit their 3-point shooting.”
Christopher (7-4) will carry the momentum from this win into its first home game of the season, a league contest against Monta Vista Christian at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The key to victory for the Cougars will be ending the same way they finished.
“We need to play with the same intensity and keep up our play all four quarters,” Shapiro said.
Gilroy (4-7) will play its final preseason at San Benito at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Mustangs open league play at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Watsonville.
Despite the night’s disappointing loss, Estorga sees the silver lining and said his team will use it as a learning experience and improve moving forward.
“We definitely have a lot to work on in terms of our rebounding, transition defense and things like that,” the Mustangs coach said. “I think everyday we get better at practice. … When we’re on it, we pass well and we shoot the ball well, they play together — we’re tough to defend.”
Christopher
T.J. Cox — Points: 2; Free throws: 2-2
Evan Shapiro — Points: 19; 3-point plays: 3; Rebounds: 1
Alex Pacheco — Points: 3; 3-point plays: 1; Rebounds: 3; Steals: 1
Josh Wheat — Points: 9; 3-points plays: 2; Free throws: 1-2; Rebounds: 4; Steals: 2
Chad Hartman — Points: 6; Free throws: 4-5; Rebounds: 2
Adam Bravo — Points: 5; 3-point plays: 1; Rebounds: 1
Zach Fishler — Points: 2; Steals: 1
Miles Gundy — Points: 1; Free throws: 1-2; Rebounds: 2
Shane Suttles — Points: 23; 3-point plays: 1; Rebounds: 6; Blocks: 2; Steals: 1
Miika Smith — Points: 4; Rebounds: 5
Gilroy
Travis Moulden — Points: 16; 3-point plays: 4; Free throws: 2-2; Rebounds: 1; Steals: 1
Chris Chang — Points: 9; 3-point plays: 3; Rebounds: 1; Blocks: 1
Kevin Azcueta — Points: 7; 3-point plays: 2; Free throws: 1-2
Hector Perez — Points: 2
Zach Loo — Points: 9; 3-point plays: 1; Assists: 1; Steals: 1
Michael Kropff — Points: 3; Free throws: 1-2; Rebounds: 6
Josiah Wiley — Points: 3; 3-point plays: 1; Rebounds: 6; Free throws: 0-1; Blocks: 1
Justin Hale — Points: 6; 3-point plays: 2
Emilio Chambers — Points: 0; Rebounds: 1
