Gunderson nets 11 treys to hand Gilroy 70-65 home loss.
GILROY – The treys kept dropping for Gunderson High. Six from downtown in the first half and five more in the second half was too much for the Gilroy High boys basketball team to handle in Monday’s 70-65 home loss.
“We couldn’t match any of their three-point shots,” said head coach Michael Baumgartner, whose squad cut the deficit to two with two minutes left despite Gunderson’s three-point show. “We had a lot of difficulty recognizing where the shooter was. We didn’t put a hand up in their face and we allowed some wide open looks.”
Gilroy – which will play host Dec. 17 to Branham at 7 p.m. – was anchored by the breakout game of senior Erik Tollison (18 points, eight rebounds) as well as the solid effort from senior Blair Wortham (10 points, seven rebounds, five blocks).
“We’re not three-pont shooting team at all,” said Baumgartner, whose Mustangs totaled two trifectas on the night. “They were a decent team. They got up and down floor. They pressed the ball well. They were athletic. They could shoot the lights out.”
But the Mustangs remained within striking distance throughout – trailing 30-25 at the half and creeping within a bucket late in the game. In all, the Mustangs made eight more field goals than Gunderson – which relied heavily on its three-point shooting.
“Danny Vadillo settled us down. He was our general out there, even though he was playing the two. He got some easy buckets that got our confidence going,” said Baumgartner of his team captain. “I believe when it comes to league time if we face a team like that, we should be more successful.”
Coach Baumgartner believes with a little more hard work and practice his inexperienced squad will soon learn the team defense concept and shut down teams.
“We played a good basketball game. We played really well. I was actually proud of the team,” Baumgartner said. “A little more team defense. We’re still kinda raw. We have a couple of guys who are still new to the system. We’re almost there.”
