Gilroy High’s boys and girls basketball teams have both started
the season strong.
MORGAN HILL – No matter what happens the rest of the way, Gilroy High basketball can already claim to have had a better season than last year.
Holding off the Andrew Hill Falcons in a furious final minute of action in the third-place game of the Bulldog Chase Tournament being held at Sobrato High School Tuesday evening, the Mustangs gained a 44-42 victory after nearly giving the game away with four turnovers, three of which came off inbounds passes under their own basket.
A pesky Falcons full-court press was partly to blame, as was a lackadaisical approach by Gilroy when putting the ball in play. But seeing how far the program has come in just its first 14 games of the season, first-year Gilroy head coach Jeremy Dirks wasn’t about to dwell on the matter until his next practice.
“We’re going to talk about it, that’s for sure,” he said. “But I don’t want to be negative. It’s our ninth win, one more than last season.”
A year ago, Gilroy ended its non-league schedule with a 6-9 record and only won two contests in the Tri-County Athletic League to finish 8-19. This season Gilroy wrapped up its non-league schedule with a 9-5 record.
Elijah Harrell led the way for the Mustangs with nine points, and in the process earned all-tournament honors. Tyler Hartman also had nine points, while Greg Hamik and Dolapo Opere followed with eight and seven points, respectively.
Andrew Hill had a chance to win the game with a final shot after rebounding a missed free throw by Gilroy’s Raul Quintanar and calling timeout with two seconds left to avoid a backcourt violation. With an open shooter in the corner, Hamik was able to block the desperation three to preserve the win.
Having dropped a game that was within their grasp a night earlier to Sobrato, 63-56, the Mustangs were more than happy to escape Morgan Hill with a win no matter the manner.
“My goal is to win every tournament but two out of three isn’t bad,” Dirks said, adding that expectations will continue to increase with each win.
“A month ago I would have been ecstatic with 9-5, but you always want to be better.”
Facing the host Bulldogs on Monday, Gilroy just couldn’t contain Ryan Williams, who scored 20 points and collected seven rebounds.
The Mustangs were sharper with the ball, committing just 10 turnovers to Sobrato’s nine, but the Bulldogs made each takeaway count.
Sobrato parlayed a few steals into a 15-3 run in the second quarter, taking a 27-19 lead on a pull-up jumper by Chris Bradley.
Gilroy didn’t give in, however, as they cut the deficit to 33-29 at halftime.
Sobrato won the game with a late burst, scoring 13 of the game’s final 18 points after the Mustangs led 51-50 and 4:52 remaining.
“The kids played hard the whole way,” Dirks said. “We needed a couple of takeaways down the stretch and weren’t able to do that. Sobrato has some fast guards. They broke our press.”
Harrell finished the game with 14 points and four assists, and Michael Aldridge pitched in 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
Harrell ended the third quarter in superb fashion to keep the game close, driving in the lane for a quick score, then creating a steal and feeding Hamik for a mid-range jumper at the horn, cutting Sobrato’s lead to 46-43.
“It was a hard-fought game on both sides,” Bulldogs coach Lawrence Crawford said. “We gained a lot of confidence in pulling it out.”
Gilroy used a first-round contest against an overmatched Anzar squad as a chance to get everyone on its roster time on the court.
Several players who haven’t seen as many minutes in recent games proved capable when called upon, helping GHS to a 77-21 victory.
Jordan Cania scored a season-high 14 points while adding four steals and three assists. Neil Azcueta pitched din in points and four steals, and forward Michael Hartman had one of his better games on the season by adding a game-tying high of 14 points and six rebounds.
“I just wanted to let them play and show they’re good members of the team, too,” Dirks said. “Any time I can get those guys in the game I’m going to do that.”
The Mustangs will begin TCAL action Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Alisal (11-2).
Girls’ basketball
Gilroy finished play in the Seaside Sweet 16 tournament with a 43-40 victory over Scotts Valley to improve to improve to 3-1 over the course of the week-long tournament and win the consolation final.
Lindsey Foster scored a team-high 12 points for the Mustangs, adding eight rebounds and five steals. Laura Steele continued to provide a reliable presence in the post with eight points and 10 rebounds, while Chelsea Hill had one of her few off-games on the season, tallying only seven points on 1-of-8 shooting. She did make 5-of-6 free throws.
Sovi Nou had seven points and seven assists, and was named to the all-tournament team.
Gilroy is now 8-5 on the season and will host Alisal in the Tri-County Athletic League opener at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Scott Adams contributed to this report.
