A strong start allowed Gilroy’s varsity boys basketball team to
overcome a sloppy second half Tuesday against the Santa Cruz
Cardinals.
Santa Cruz
A strong start allowed Gilroy’s varsity boys basketball team to overcome a sloppy second half Tuesday against the Santa Cruz Cardinals.
Leading by as much as 18 in the contest, the Mustangs committed more than 10 turnovers in the final two periods, but were able to hold on for a 61-57 victory in the first game of the season.
Center Jason Conrad led GHS with 16 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocks, 3 assists and 2 steals.
Forward Lorenzo Dobson was also efficient in filling out several categories of the stat sheet, scoring 9 points and grabbing 11 rebounds to go with 4 assists, 4 blocks and 3 steals.
“Our bigs really led us,” Gilroy assistant coach Jeremy Dirks said, referring to the 6-foot-11-inch Conrad and 6-foot-9-inch Dobson.
Senior guard Derek Jensen (5 points) was in foul trouble for much of the game, but GHS got a lift from guards Elijah Harrell (10 pts.) and Jacob Dexter (9 pts.), as well as reserve forward Tyler Hartman (8 pts.).
“We were pleasantly surprised by [Hartman],” Dirks said. “He was a spark off the bench.”
Overall, coaches were less than thrilled about the team’s first impression considering there are high expectations.
“I think there was a little bit of nerves – guys anxious, trying to do too much,” Dirks said. “[Santa Cruz] never once had the lead, it was kind of annoying. The game wasn’t really ever in jeopardy, but we would have liked to look a little better in our first game.”
The team’s next contest will be Thursday at the 25th Annual Aptos Seascape Classic.
