The Gilroy Mustangs Late Rally Falls Just Short; Mitty wins
58-52
Gilroy – In the world of Gilroy boys basketball during the past week, it’s been anybody’s guess as to which team will show up to play.
But the right one showed up against Archbishop Mitty Tuesday night, and if it weren’t for a weak third quarter, the Mustangs might have pulled away with its first home win of the season. But the Monarchs, coming of a 22-point beating of Santa Cruz, outlasted Gilroy 58-52.
“This is the team that I’ve been looking for,” said Gilroy head coach Bud Ogden. “I hope this will continue for the rest of the season.”
The loss drops the Mustangs to 1-4.
The score was tied at 28 at halftime, but Mitty began to widen the gap in the third quarter. Both teams struggled to score, but Gilroy had more trouble than the Monarchs, putting up just six points.
In the fourth quarter, Mitty broke open its 37-34 lead. The Monarchs went on a 12-2 run that gave them a 49-36 edge, Mitty’s biggest lead of the night, with 4:27 to play.
“I think (Mitty) stepped up the pressure a little bit (in the second half) and I think that when they were in striking distance, out eyes got a little big,” Ogden said. “But I don’t think that will happen in the future.”
Over the next few minutes, Gilroy got a three-pointer and jumper from senior guard and leading scorer Jeremy Teschera (15 points) and a turnaround jumper under the basket from senior forward Ryan Chisolm (6 points, 9 rebounds). But Mitty matched the Mustangs and capitalized on scoring opportunities when Gilroy turned the ball over twice in a row to keep a 57-45 lead with under a minute left.
After a Gilroy timeout with 49 seconds to play, junior guard Kameron Handy single-handedly rejuvenated the Mustangs. Handy slashed his way to the basket for a lay-up when play resumed. Gilroy fouled and got the ball back after Mitty missed two free throws. Handy scored again on a reverse lay-up from the left side. Then the junior, who finished with 12 points, forced Mitty’s ballhandler to turn the ball over as he tried to make his way up the floor. Teschera got the steal and found Vinny DeLorenzo, who faked and knocked down a jumper from the right elbow to make it 51-57.
But it was too little too late. Mitty’s Collin Chiverton made the front end of a pair of free throws with four seconds left to seal the 58-52 win.
Though the ‘Stangs have struggled to a 1-4 start, it hasn’t been against easy competition. But Ogden sees the tough preseason schedule beginning to pay off.
“I think in the long run, this has got to make us better,” he said.
Added Chisolm, “We’ve got to take (our lumps). It’s the only way we’re going to get better.”
In the first half, Gilroy kept Mitty in check, especially Monarchs’ big man Drew Gordon, an athletic 6-foot-8 sophomore that caused the ‘Stangs big problems last year. Gilroy’s own towering sophomore Jason Conrad (8 blocks, 7 rebounds) and Chisolm worked together in the low post to keep Gordon off the block and were effective holding the sophomore to just 11 points.
Gordon did have a couple highlight plays in the second quarter in an otherwise quiet first half. He slammed home a put back after teammate Kevin Toth’s lay-up jumped off the rim. Right after that score, Gordon stole a Gilroy pass at half court, took it down the floor and finished with a monster two-handed jam that impressed the whole crowd.
“We played against him last year when we lost by 35 or 40 up there (in San Jose), so we knew what to expect,” said Chisolm, who chipped in six points but led the team with nine rebounds. “We stuck to the game plan. He still got his dunks, but we limited him. We just had a bad third quarter scoring and stopping.”
‘Stangs Go 1-2 at Aptos Seascape Tourney
Gilroy opened the Aptos Seascape Tourney with a solid win over Watsonville on Thursday, but the tournament slowly degenerated for the Mustangs from there.
The Mustangs fell to a hot-shooting San Lorenzo Valley Friday before playing “absolutely awful” against Pioneer on Saturday.
“The Pioneer was one of the strangest games I’ve ever been a part of,” said Ogden. “We couldn’t throw it in the ocean.”
Meanwhile, Pioneer made about 60 percent of its shots, which made was a deadly combo for Gilroy.
“We couldn’t push over the hump,” Ogden said.
Gilroy 64, Watsonville 39
Kameron Handy – 11 pts., 9 reb.; Dominik Wilkins -10 pts.; Ryan Chisolm, Jason Conrad, Jeremy Teschera – 8 pts.
San Lorenzo Valley 59, Gilroy 42
Wilkins – 12 pts.; Chisolm – 6 pts., 10 reb.; Conrad – 6 pts., 10 reb.; Teschera – 6 pts.
Pioneer 66, Gilroy 44
Teschera – 8 pts., 5 reb.; Vinny DeLorenzo – 7 pts.; Handy – 6 pts.; Frankie Tomasetti – 6 pts.; Chisolm – 8 reb.
