The Mustangs (12-7, 5-2 TCAL) and Balers (10-9, 5-2 TCAL) are
locked in a virtual tie for second place behind a seemingly
unstoppable Salinas High squad (18-1, 7-0 TCAL), though San Benito
does have the tiebreaker edge at the moment as a result of a 79-75
victory in the teams’ first meeting Jan. 7.
It’s getting to that time of the season. The margin for error is shrinking.
“Every game is a CCS seeding game,” GHS boys basketball head coach Matt Tait said Tuesday, one day before his Mustangs host rival San Benito in a playoff-implication-heavy showdown. “You can’t take a game off. Every game is a must-win at this point.”
The Mustangs (12-7, 5-2 TCAL) and Balers (10-9, 5-2 TCAL) are locked in a virtual tie for second place behind a seemingly unstoppable Salinas High squad (18-1, 7-0 TCAL), though San Benito does have the tiebreaker edge at the moment as a result of a 79-75 victory in the teams’ first meeting Jan. 7. Palma, the league’s four-time defending champ, is lingering in striking distance in fourth (12-7, 4-3 TCAL), one game back in the loss column.
The Mustangs and Balers each have one game left against Palma and Salinas. Gilroy gets both at home where the Mustangs have posted an 8-3 record this season.
With five Tri-County Athletic League games remaining, Wednesday’s clash carries more than just rivalry-winner pride.
Salinas, San Benito and Gilroy are all CCS Division I schools, and with the Cowboys in control of their own destiny, two games up, a season split with the Balers looks much better than suffering a sweep.
“If you lose twice to them they automatically have to be seeded higher than you,” Tait said. “There’s a lot involved. It’s going to be a fight just to get that second spot.”
The battle begins Wednesday.
Coming off of two straight contests allowing 91 points, Tait has focused a majority of his attention at practice on the defensive side of the ball.
“The big things we have struggled with over the last two games is not keeping guys in front of us and not being able to contain penetration and block out,” he said.
Gilroy was thumped by Salinas 91-65 last Wednesday and survived a scare against Alvarez 99-91 on Friday.
The Mustangs led by as many as eight points late in the third quarter in the Jan. 7 loss, only to see that lead disappear completely on a late 3-pointer from San Benito’s Cooper Sepulveda.
“The way we lost last time was tough,” Tait said. “We gave up a lot of second-chance points that really hurt us.”
The last encounter featured plenty of offense, including 42 points from Mustangs’ point guard Cameron Yawary, Tait said he doesn’t mind an up-tempo pace. It’s more a matter of how the Mustangs’ defense handles what the Balers throw at them.
“We have plenty of stuff to fix ourselves to worry too much about what they are going to do,” Tait said. “As long as we can get our defense to make them do what we want, we will be fine. But they are big and good on the boards so that’s the catch.”
Game time is slated for 7 p.m. inside Bob Hagen Memorial Gymnasium. The first 50 fans will receive a free rally towel.
“It’s going to be a good game. I’m excited,” Tait said. “The kids are naturally going to be excited but I want them to be level-headed and keep them tempered.”
Mustangs’ remaining schedule:
Wed. vs. San Benito, 7
Feb. 4 at North Salinas, 7
Feb. 11 vs. Palma, 7
Feb. 16 at Alisal, 7
Feb. 18 vs. Salinas, 7
