Gilroy defeats Monterey 59-55 in championship game
Gilroy – As Vinny DeLorenzo went to the free throw line with his team up by two with 12.7 seconds left in the championship game of the Bob Hagen Memorial Tournament Saturday, the senior just tried to breathe.
“I thought if I make them both, it’s a two-possession game. I just knew both had to go in,” DeLorenzo said. “I was just concentrating on breathing.”
While Monterey fans tried to throw the senior’s concentration with yells of “Choke!” from the stands, DeLorenzo calmly drained both free throws, putting the Mustangs up by four. After Monterey’s Michael Phillips took the ball to the other end for a lay up to cut Gilroy’s lead to 57-55, DeLorenzo was fouled again when he received the inbound pass. He sank two more free throws with one second left to secure the 59-55 win and Gilroy’s first Hagen Memorial title since 2001 and the first of Bud Ogden’s career as coach of the Mustangs.
“Vinny stepped up,” Ogden said. “What he does may not always show in the stats, but he’s like having another coach out on the floor.”
The win boosted Gilroy to 7-6 going into tonight’s 7pm home game against Monte Vista Christian. DeLorenzo, who was named to the All-Tournament team along with sophomore center Jason Conrad and senior guard Jeremy Teschera, finished with 12 points. Conrad, who had 15 points, 12 rebounds, five blocks and four assists, was named Tournament MVP.
Though Gilroy built a comfortable lead after three quarters, a Monterey comeback late in the fourth quarter nearly spoiled the Mustangs’ title hopes. After Teschera (9 points, 7 rebounds) drove down the middle of the lane for a lay up, Gilroy held a comfortable 53-41 lead with 4:35 left. But the Toreadors heated up, scoring nine unanswered points to get within 53-50. Gilroy didn’t score again until senior guard Dominik Wilkins banked in a shot from the free throw line under pressure with less than a minute to go. That proved to be an important shot because Monterey’s Anthony Frank answered with a three-pointer at the other end to close the gap to 55-53 with 38 seconds left.
“I said, ‘I’m just going to step up and make the shot,'” Wilkins said. “I don’t know how it went in.”
Gilroy wore over 20 seconds off the clock until Monterey sent DeLorenzo to the line for his first crucial pair of free throws that led to the win.
While the ending was certainly the most dramatic part of the game, the first half was not without excitement. After trailing 12-9 after the first quarter, Gilroy took the lead in the second after senior forward Destry Jones (7 points, 6 rebounds) made two free throws and a short turnaround jumper in two straight possessions to make it 13-12 Gilroy. With five minutes to go until the half, Teschera hit a three from the corner to extend the Mustang lead to 22-15. On the same play, Monterey’s Frank was called for a foul away from the ball. A little over a minute later, Frank was whistled for the same foul again after teammate Kyle Elder knocked down a three. On that play, Frank apparently elbowed Jones in the neck, which didn’t sit well with the Gilroy junior or the rest of the team.
“That got us fired up a little bit,” Ogden said.
Added Conrad, “It was physical, so the emotions got in there.”
The drama didn’t stop there. Play was stopped with 1:48 to go in the half after an altercation between fans in the stands behind the scorer’s table broke out. One Monterey fan was asked to leave the game.
But through it all, Gilroy stayed unaffected.
“We pretty much just focused on the game,” Conrad said. The Mustangs went into the locker room at the half with a 31-22 lead.
Before the game, Bob Hagen’s widow, Maggie, was honored on court. It was only fitting that she witness a Gilroy victory.
“This is something to reflect on,” Wilkins said. “We won the Hagen. I’m happy.”
