If only every season opener could be so auspicious.
Gilroy High’s boys basketball team demolished visiting North
Monterey County 65-38 Friday evening, giving the Mustangs their
first victory under new head coach Jeremy Dirks.
GILROY – If only every season opener could be so auspicious.
Gilroy High’s boys basketball team demolished visiting North Monterey County 65-38 Friday evening, giving the Mustangs their first victory under new head coach Jeremy Dirks.
Michael Hartman was one of three different Mustangs to record double figures in points, leading the way with 12 to go with six rebounds. Fellow juniors Greg Hamik and Max Fishler followed with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
“Our team played well, played great,” Dirks said. “I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Nine different Mustangs scored, with guards Neil Azcueta ( 8 points, 7 assists) and Elijah Harrell (6 points, 6 assists) handling the bulk of the distribution duties. Hamik also had a helping hand, pitching in six assists to go with seven rebounds.
Leading 34-15 at halftime, the Mustangs built on their lead by outscoring NMC 20-12 in the third quarter. With the game out of reach, Dirks made sure every player saw the court while continuing to pressure the length of the court on defense. Both teams scored 11 points in the fourth quarter.
“I started substituting early and guys like Neil Azcueta came in and gave us a huge spark,” Dirks said, adding that Harrell set the tone for the game by pushing the tempo while Hamik had a “very well-rounded” performance.
After finishing last season with a disappointing 8-19 record, in which Gilroy lost eight of its last nine games, getting off to a good start was gratifying to coaches and players after a long offseason.
“It was a good way to usher in Gilroy basketball – a new way we’re going to play,” Dirks said. “A guy like EJ (Harrell), who has been through it all, he was really excited about how it went down (Friday).
“It was really fun. To be honest, it was kind of nice to get it out of the way.”
The competition level will go up a clip tonight at 7 p.m. when Gilroy hosts Santa Cruz (1-1). Having scouted the Cardinals last week, Dirks thinks slowing guards Taylor Kientzel (19.5 points per game) and Sean Conroe ( 12 PPG) will be key to Gilroy starting the season with a winning streak.
“It’s a step up in competition,” he said. “Their guards are skilled individually.”
BOX SCORE
1 2 3 4 F
NMC – 7 8 12 11 38
GHS – 14 20 20 11 65
Name FG FT 3PT REB AST PF ST TO BLKS PTS
Harrell, E. 3 0 0 1 6 0 3 0 0 6
Hartman, T. 1 4-4 0 3 0 0 3 0 0 6
Fishler, M. 3 1-5 1 5 1 0 0 0 0 10
Hartman, M. 6 0 0 6 1 0 4 0 0 12
Aldridge, M. 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2
Hamik, G. 1 0 3 7 6 0 1 0 0 11
Opere, D. 2 0-2 0 8 0 0 1 0 0 4
Quintanar, R. 1 1-1 1 0 3 0 5 0 0 6
Azcueta, N. 4 0 0 0 7 0 1 0 0 8
Aguilar, S. 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Cania, J. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
