Division I Boys
Mustangs 47, MJ Boys 43 (Feb. 5)
In a
”
Battle of the Best
”
for NJB Division I teams, the Gilroy Mustangs defeated the
Gilroy MJ Boys 47-43 in a thrilling comeback victory.
Staff Reports
Division I Boys
Mustangs 47, MJ Boys 43 (Feb. 5)
In a “Battle of the Best” for NJB Division I teams, the Gilroy Mustangs defeated the Gilroy MJ Boys 47-43 in a thrilling comeback victory.
Sunday’s “All-Gilroy” contest between two undefeated teams, the No. 6-ranked Gilroy Mustangs and the No. 1-ranked Gilroy MJ Boys (ranking from a total of 60-plus teams from Hollister to Redwood City), was basketball at its best.
The MJ Boys jumped out to an early lead and led most of the way. The game was a very physical defensive contest with several players fouling out. The MJ Boys led 37-30 going into the final quarter. That’s when the Mustangs turned the game around.
The Mustang defense took over and did not allow a single field goal in the last quarter. All six points scored by the MJ Boys in the fourth quarter came from free throws. The Mustangs also “lit it up” offensively with a 17-point final quarter.
The momentum shifted to the Mustangs for good in what was the offensive play of the game. Michael Aldridge (4 assists, 2 steals, 2 rebounds, 1 point) lobbed an alley-oop pass from half-court to the airborne Dominic Leach (19 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block) for a rim high lay-in. The Mustangs smallest player, Connor Ross, continued to show a real nose for the ball and came up big with seven rebounds, two steals, two assists, one point. Ross also displayed solid ball handling under pressure during the final minutes of the game. Cameron Yawary (12 points, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 rebound), the Mustangs’ gifted shooter, posted another solid performance and found a way to deliver despite intense defensive pressure designed to stop him.
Mustangs 58, Almaden 29 (Feb. 12)
Led by Leach (16 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks), Tyler Price (7 rebounds, 4 points, 2 steals), Nathan Seifert (7 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 assists) and Ryan Colton (7 points, 1 steal, 1 assist), the Mustangs extended their unbeaten record to 9-0.
Only four teams remain undefeated in the 7th/8th grade bracket. The Mustangs are ranked third out of 62 teams with one regular season game remaining before the playoffs. They play their last regular season game against Evergreen.
Mustangs 58, Evergreen 12
With the win over Evergreen, the Gilroy Mustangs finish the regular season undefeated and ranked No. 2 out of 62 teams.
The Mustangs were led by Yawary (17 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 assists), Ross (10 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 rebounds), Chris Catanzaro (8 points, 11 rebounds, 8 steals, 7 assists, 2 blocks), Aldridge ( 5 points, 11 rebounds, 7 steals, 2 assists) and Zack Colton (4 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal). The Mustangs playoffs begin on March 5.
Division I Girls
Lady Titans 23, Lady Sparks 22 (Feb. 5)
With both teams going into the game with 8-0 records, the Lady Titans came out the one-point winner in a clash of the undefeateds. Megan Wheat led the Titans offensively with eight points. Defensively, the Titans’ Chelsea Hill owned the boards, pulling down more than 14 rebounds. Young Emily Costa showed composure well beyond her years running the offense.
Lady Titans 30, Coyote Creek 27 (Feb. 12)
The team was led by an amazing effort on defense by Kristin Costa. Once again Emily Costa came through controlling the ball. Megan Wheat chipped in four points, and also provided solid rebounding. The Lady Titans are now 9-0.
Lady Titans 31, Los Gatos 16
Led by Lindsay Foster’s scoring (12 points) and Kristin Costa’s defense, the Titans finished the regular season 10-0. The team will now play in the Divisional Championships
Division II Girls
Morgan Hill/Gilroy All-Stars 25, Hollister Stars 17 (Feb. 5)
The All-Stars picked up their sixth win of the season at home, despite getting off to a slow start. The team fell behind Hollister 5-6 after the first quarter. But the All-Stars’ defense pulled together in the second period and sustained the remainder of the game. Ebony Stevens (9 points) and Tiyana Rogers (8 points) broke through the Hollister defense to lead the way for Gilroy. Chipping in with two points each were Hanna Tabron, Vanessa Martinez, Jasmine Gutierrez and Claudia Ferreira. The All-Stars are now 6-2 for the season.
