MORGAN HILL – Down by 10 points at the half and many as 12 in
the third quarter, the Gilroy High boys varsity basketball team
roared all the way back to defeat host school Sobrato 64-56 in the
second round of the Bulldog Chase tournament Tuesday night in
Morgan Hill.
MORGAN HILL – Down by 10 points at the half and many as 12 in the third quarter, the Gilroy High boys varsity basketball team roared all the way back to defeat host school Sobrato 64-56 in the second round of the Bulldog Chase tournament Tuesday night in Morgan Hill.
Led by the steady play of Andrel Gaines at point guard, clutch shooting from Greg Hamik and center Michael Hartman controlling the boards, the Mustangs narrowed the deficit to just four by the end of the third quarter and sealed the deal in the deciding fourth.
“We were all pumped up and happy to be back in the game,” said Hamik about the Mustangs’ mentality heading into the fourth down by four points. “We just wanted to get out there and get a lead and close the game out.”
Gaines scored a season-high 19 points, including 11 in a furious fourth quarter and Hamik poured in a game-high 20 points as the two guards combined to help the Mustangs take, then build on, the lead in the final minutes of the game.
“Coach told me to be more aggressive so I came out and tried to shoot the ball a little more,” Gaines said.
After Michael Aldridge tied things up at 54 apiece with less than four minutes to go, Gaines put GHS up 56-54 with a pretty jumper in the lane. Hamik followed on the ensuing possession knocking down a big 3-pointer. Gaines promptly stole the Bulldogs’ inbound pass and dropped in the layup to put the Mustangs ahead, 61-54 with three minutes to play.
“I thought if we cut it to six by the fourth quarter it’d be great,” head coach Jeremy Dirks said. “We cut it to four and the energy came up.”
It wasn’t easy for the Mustangs in the first half, as missed free throws and untimely turnovers impeded the Mustangs progress.
Hartman kept the Mustangs in the game in the opening quarter, scoring five of his 12 points and pulling down seven rebounds.
Despite his efforts, the game was deadlocked at 16-16 heading into the second where it was all Sobrato.
The Bulldogs began to convert on the extra opportunities the Mustangs were handing them and put together their best quarter of the night.
Unleashing a barrage of shots from beyond the arc, the Bulldogs hit four 3-pointers in the second quarter en route to 9-of-11 shooting and the 10-point lead at the break.
“We played some of the dumbest basketball we’ve played all season,” Dirks said of his team’s first-half misfortunes. “We were getting beautiful steals then we turn the ball over. Sobrato is hitting every three and playing out of their minds. We missed some easy layups and free throws but we were only down by 10.”
The second half belonged to the Mustangs, outscoring the Bulldogs 38-20 in the final 16 minutes.
Gaines nearly had a triple-double, adding nine assists and seven steals to his 19 points. Hartman ended up with a season-high 19 rebounds. Ryan Williams led all Sobrato scorers with 17, including 2-of-3 from downtown. Bryan Bradley finished with 15 and was also accurate from 3-point range, hitting 3-of-5.
The Mustangs play Santa Teresa in the championship game at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Sobrato.
– Due to strict holiday deadlines results from the championship game of the Bulldog Chase tournament, highlights from the championship game will appear in Tuesday’s edition of the Dispatch as well as online.
