Six basketball games took place at Gilroy High on Friday the
13th, and a conspicuous distinction could be found in the
results.
Luck was not a lady on this night.
From the freshmen to the junior varsity to the varsity level,
the GHS boys’ teams all topped the visiting North Salinas Vikings
squads. Meanwhile, each Gilroy girls’ team was terrorized by
defeat.
GILROY – Six basketball games took place at Gilroy High on Friday the 13th, and a conspicuous distinction could be found in the results.
Luck was not a lady on this night.
From the freshmen to the junior varsity to the varsity level, the GHS boys’ teams all topped the visiting North Salinas Vikings squads. Meanwhile, each Gilroy girls’ team was terrorized by defeat.
Celebrating Homecoming and Senior Night, the GHS varsity boys put together possibly their finest performance of the season, beating the Vikings 68-51 to cap the night.
“I made a conscious effort to make sure everyone played, and everyone contributed,” Mustangs coach Jeremy Dirks said. “It worked out well.”
The victory, aided by 16 points by Elijah Harrell, and 13 points and 13 rebounds by Tyler Hartman, secures a winning record for Gilroy (14-11) regardless of what happens in the season’s final game Thursday against Palma.
“It feels great, especially after last year and having all these young guys,” Harrell said.
The Mustangs went 8-19 a season ago and lost seven seniors.
Trailing 16-15 after the first quarter, Gilroy finished the half ahead 32-29. Down 22-15 early in the second quarter, Dirks called a timeout to settle his players. Gilroy responded by going on a 10-3 run. The Mustangs gained separation in the third quarter, ending the period with a 54-38 advantage.
“They did a good job breaking our press,” Vikings coach Alan Green said.
“EJ (Harrell) did a super job controlling the tempo, and Hartman cleaning up on rebounds.”
The varsity lady Mustangs (15-7) had a much tougher time in the second-to-last game of the evening, losing 67-51.
Starting a lineup to recognize the occasion, Gilroy coach Susan Shapiro played senior Kristy Pineda (11 points) the entire game, while senior Jennifer Rose (seven points) also started the contest but saw less time on the floor.
“This was [Pineda’s] night,” Shapiro said. “She earned it. She was giving her heart.”
Vikings center Bina Abbott dominated on the inside, scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. North Salinas point guard Edthel Lugo was excellent from the perimeter, dishing out nine assists to go with 11 points.
Gilroy was only down by four, 18-14, after the first quarter, but the club found itself down 36-21 by halftime. The Vikings were ahead by 10, 29-19, a couple minutes before intermission but distanced themselves by going on a 7-2 run.
“We played very good team defense,” Vikings coach Darren Jackson said. He added that offensively, the game marked North Salinas’ “best shooting night” of the season.
Center Chelsea Hill was second on the team in scoring for Gilroy with 10 points, eight coming in the first half. To begin the third quarter, however, Hill, along with most of Gilroy’s regular starters, was sitting on the bench.
“Sometimes you need to sit and watch to be ready to play the game,” Shapiro said, citing a lack of energy from some players as her reason for playing unusual lineups throughout the game.
North Salinas (19-3, 9-1) is currently tied with Hollister (19-4, 9-1) atop the Tri-County Athletic League standings, as each team gave one loss to the other. Gilroy, which never got closer than 13 in the second half and trailed by as much as 24, sits in third in league at 7-4.
The lady Mustangs will play at Alisal on Wednesday before finishing the regular season Friday against visiting Salinas.
