The Mustangs raced to a 52-43 victory Thursday in the first
round of the Bob Hagen Memorial Basketball Tournament at Gilroy
High School
GILROY — It’s been a coaching change and a rebuilding season since Gilroy last played Live Oak in boys basketball — but the Mustangs haven’t forgotten how to beat their old rival.
The Mustangs raced to a 52-43 victory Thursday in the first round of the Bob Hagen Memorial Basketball Tournament at Gilroy High School.
Greg Hamik scored a game-high 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting, E.J. Harrell added 13 points and three assists and Dolapo Opere had eight points and eight rebounds for the Mustangs, who improved to 6-3 in nonleague play.
“Right now, winning is the most important thing — we want to win any way we can,” Gilroy first-year coach Jeremy Dirks said. “This team only won eight games last year. So to come in here and open the tournament with a win against your rival, it’s huge. But we’re just happy to get the victory.”
Gilroy seized momentum early, scoring the first nine points of the game, and answered each Acorns rally with clutch short-range shooting.
Hamik sank three consecutive field goals to end the first half, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer that gave Gilroy a 35-18 lead — its biggest of the game.
Live Oak (1-5 overall) got off the mat in the third quarter and pulled within nine at 42-33 after Cody Galliziolli sank a pull-up jumper with 2:10 remaining.
But Gilroy answered with two consecutive layups by Harrell; the second dropping with two seconds left.
“We couldn’t let up,” said Hamik, who had three steals. “We had to keep our intensity up to protect the lead.”
The Mustangs played keep-away in the fourth quarter, taking only 11 shots from the field, to preserve the win.
Galliziolli finished with 16 points, and Bantilan had eight to lead Live Oak.
Gilroy will play Payson, which came all the way from Utah to play in the tournament, tonight at 8 p.m. in the second round. The winner will advance to the championship game to face either Aptos or Harbor, which play at 6:30 p.m. this evening.
The championship game is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Saturday.
