Mustangs get their biggest win of season over St. Francis
Gilroy-After four straight easy wins, there was some question how Gilroy would react when it got into a game against an opponent more on its level.
The question was answered Thursday at Bob Hagen Memorial Gymnasium. The Mustangs got their signature win of the season when they held off fast-closing St. Francis 59-58.
“It’s good to have a solid win under our belts,” said senior Kameron Handy, who had 14 points and six assists. “We had a couple easy wins. This is a good West Catholic League team. This will help us recover from the losses.”
It was far from easy, as the final score indicates. Even when Jason Conrad’s bank shot gave Gilroy (9-4) a 54-44 advantage with 4:48 left in the game, St. Francis (7-1) simply dug in a little deeper.
A trey by Omar Bourgoub and steal and fastbreak by Robert Bow sliced the deficit in half and there were still four minutes remaining. But the Mustangs tightened their defense and the Lancers didn’t get closer than three points until Tyler Olson’s shot at the buzzer.
“This was great competition and good for both teams,” longtime St. Francis coach Steve Filios said. “You couldn’t ask for a better matchup. This is what we needed because our league is tall like this and we need to learn to play against teams like that. As far as Gilroy, that’s the best energy I’ve seen out of them.”
The teams were never separated by more than six points during a first half that ended at 32-all and was so close that each shot 50 percent from the field and had 15 rebounds. It continued to go back and forth in the third quarter until Javin Charlot (13 points) scored on a fastbreak and hit a trey to beat the buzzer for a 46-43 lead.
Gilroy had to survive accurate long-range shooting from Bow, Bourgoub and Tim Trobbe, who combined for seven treys. Bow, a slender 6-0 senior, was especially effective with 18 points and five assists.
“He’s a great competitor,” Filios said of Bow.
Meanwhile, the Mustangs seemed to get big plays from almost everyone at some point. Spencer Ford had 12 points and three blocks, and Jason Conrad came up with 10 of his game-high 12 rebounds in the second half.
“That was undoubtedly the best Spencer has played for us this season,” GHS coach Bud Ogden said. “Jason played well. Kameron did a good job slashing to the basket. Just about everyone had a hand in it.”
Ogden was impressed with the effort of St. Francis, which has no player listed at more than 6-3.
“They play very hard,” Ogden said. “They’re very skilled and coach Filios gets every ounce out of those kids.”
And yet, as Filios noted, Ogden was getting a better effort out of Gilroy as well.
“That was a lot of fun,” Handy said. “The big guys were beautiful. Everyone contributed.”
The Mustangs are finished for the year, returning to action Jan. 3 when top Tri-County Athletic League contender Palma and Orlando Johnson come to Gilroy.
Sub-varsity: St. Francis came from behind to defeat Gilroy 61-47 in the junior varsity game. Justin Wheat had 11 points and seven rebounds, Kendrick Azcueta had 10 points and Stephen Galtman had eight points and 12 rebounds for the Mustangs.
The Lancers also won the freshman game, 58-42.
St. Francis (58)-Leiva 2, Bow 18, Scudellari 4, Bourgoub 11, Olson 6, Trobbe 6, Grant 8, Kadash 0, Broom 3. Totals 22 7-11 58.
Gilroy (59)-Handy 14, Martinez 0, Ford 12, Charlot 13, Jensen 3, Johnson 7, Dobson 0, Jones 2, Conrad 8, Siha 0. Totals 24 10-16 59.
St. Francis 15 17 11 15 – 58
Gilroy 17 15 14 13 – 59
3-point goals: SF, Bow 3, Bourgoub 2, Trobbe 2. GHS, Charlot.
