Jeremy Dirks was quick to point out that his team’s win Friday
night wasn’t pretty.
Edging the Payson Lions 36-31 in the second round of the Bob
Hagen Memorial Tournament, it was actually downright ugly.
”
But an ugly win is better than an ugly loss,
”
Dirks added.
No one can argue with that.
GILROY – Jeremy Dirks was quick to point out that his team’s win Friday night wasn’t pretty.
Edging the Payson Lions 36-31 in the second round of the Bob Hagen Memorial Tournament, it was actually downright ugly.
“But an ugly win is better than an ugly loss,” Dirks added.
No one can argue with that.
Gilroy improved to 7-3 on the season by outscoring the Lions 12-5 in the final quarter. Gilroy led 9-5 after the first quarter and 17-12 at halftime, but the team found itself behind 26-24 after the third.
Tyler Hartman led all scorers in the game, pouring in 11 points to go with four rebounds for the Mustangs. He also had two timely assists to Dolapo Opere (eight points) to seal the game in the final minutes. Greg Hamik had 10 points, Max Fishler had five and Neil Azcueta scored two.
Justin Wolf led Payson with eight points.
“I just told the kids [after the game] the Malcolm X quote, ‘By any means necessary,'” Dirks said.
Fighting through an ice-cold shooting night, the Mustangs have now earned the right to play in Saturday’s championship game against Aptos, which defeated Harbor in the semifinals. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
It is the fourth straight year Gilroy has made an appearance in the championship game of the tournament it hosts. The Mustangs lost to North Monterey County in last season’s final after winning the game in back-to-back years.
Note: Maggie Hagen, the widow of the tournament’s namesake, will take part in a ceremony before Saturday’s championship game.
