Mustangs crush Alvarez, move on to consolation championship
With about two minutes to go in his team’s Bob Hagen Tournament win over Alvarez, Gilroy boys’ basketball coach Bud Ogden instructed his players to run the “Oregon” play.
The play had seldom been run in practice. So despite Ogden’s attempt to yell out step-by-step instructions, his confused players eventually threw the ball out-of-bounds.
“It went from ‘Oregon’ to freelance in about two plays,” the second-year coach said. “It didn’t get very far.”
It also didn’t matter. That’s why Ogden could laugh about if afterward.
It was that kind of night for the Mustangs, who rolled into the consolation title game with a laughable 58-17 victory over the Eagles.
The night before, Gilroy dropped a 49-36 decision to a tough Monterey team. But there was nothing tough about this one.
“It was kind of a boys against men yesterday,” Ogden said. “And kind of a men against boys today.”
The game was actually fairly back-and-forth for a little while, but after a few minutes, Gilroy forward Vince Mitre hit a pair of threes and that was that.
The Mustangs led by 12 at the end of the first quarter and by 18 at the end of the first half. Then it really got ugly.
The Eagles connected on one three-pointer midway through the third quarter.
But they connected on nothing else – and wound up being outscored 24-3 by Gilroy in the second half.
In a balanced effort, every healthy Mustang played and all but two scored. Vinny DeLorenzo led with nine points and Dominic Jackson contributed eight.
“It was good for our confidence … we needed that,” DeLorenzo said. “It was a game where we could practice various defenses and plays.”
After seeing Alvarez lose by 50 the day before, Ogden said it wasn’t hard to see this one coming.
“I kinda figured it would be somewhat like this,” he said. “We just wanted to work on some fundamentals and take something good out of it.
“The true test comes next.”
That challenge comes in the form of Aptos, which Gilroy faces for the consolation championship at 11 this morning.
The Mariners (6-3) narrowly lost to Hollister Thursday and beat North County by 22 Friday. Aptos also beat the Mustangs 60-57 in its home tournament back on Dec. 3.
Standout guard Broc Carroll, who’s averaging 22 points at the Hagen, connected on seven threes and posted 33 points in his team’s first meeting with the Mustangs.
“I know personally I’d like to show them something,” Jackson said. “We want beat them this time.”
Ogden seconded his junior center.
“I wouldn’t call it revenge or anything,” he said. “But let’s just say when we walked off that court, we were thinking we’d like to play them again.”
JVs roll dice, turn up 17’s
Seventeen was the lucky number for Gilroy in its 68-64 win over Harbor Friday. Three players – Destry Jones, Matt Hemeon and Chris Yates – scored 17 points in the victory. In addition, Yates and Jones combined for 18 rebounds and Christian Cania dished out seven assists. The ‘Stangs play Aptos for the Bob Hagen junior varsity title this afternoon at 2.
In other action:
Behind 25 points from the aforementioned Carroll, APTOS ended up cruising over NORTH COUNTY, 69-47. The Mariners led just 33-27 at the break, but Carroll exploded for 15 in the third and the lead expanded to 22. Jordan Monroe scored 24 to lead the Condors … In a bit of a surprise, LIVE OAK found itself leading HOLLISTER, 27-23, at halftime of Friday’s first semifinal game. The Haybalers started the second half on a 16-4 run, though, and eventually pulled away. Star forward Kyle Sharp led the way with 22 points … The ‘Balers will face MONTEREY in today’s championship game. HARBOR kept it close for three quarters, but the Toreadors dominated the final five minutes for a 57-42 victory. Forward Kenny Hills (16 pts) led the team in scoring for the second straight game.
Bob Hagen Tournament Results/Schedule
Schedule:
VARSITY
Thursday
Game 1: Live Oak 55, N. Monterey Co. 48
Game 2: Hollister 61, Aptos 56
Game 3: Harbor 67, Alvarez 17
Game 4: Monterey 49, GILROY 36
Friday
Game 5: Aptos 69, N. Monterey Co. 47
Game 6: GILROY 58, Alvarez 17
Game 7: Hollister 56, Live Oak 45
Game 8: Monterey 57, Harbor 42
Saturday
Game 9: Aptos vs. GILROY, 11am
Game 10: Live Oak vs. Harbor, 12:30pm
Game 11: Hollister vs. Monterey, 2pm
JUNIOR VARSITY
Thursday
Game 1: St. Francis (Coast) 46, Live Oak 45
Game 2: Aptos 58, Hollister 54
Game 3: Gilroy 69, St. Lawrence 33
Game 4: Harbor 48, Alvarez 34
Friday
Game 5: Live Oak 48, Hollister 47
Game 6: St. Lawrence 57, Alvarez 48
Game 7: Aptos 60, St. Francis (Coast) 48
Game 8: GILROY 68, Harbor 64
Saturday
Game 9: Live Oak vs. St. Lawrence
Game 10: St. Francis (Coast) vs. Harbor, 12:30
Game 11: Aptos vs. Gilroy, 2pm
