Perfect Mustangs: Gilroy’s Second Half Rally Quiets San Benito
on Its Home Court
By Scott Campbell, Staff Writer
Hollister. – Funny thing about all this winning. You get circled on each opponent’s schedule and constantly face teams gunning to be the one to beat you.
Bud Ogden and the Gilroy boys basketball team are getting quite familiar with the rap. After surviving a spirited challenge from San Benito to post a 58-50 road victory last night, the Mustangs extended their winning streak to 13 games.
“Each one seems to be getting tougher,” said Ogden, Gilroy’s head coach. “It feels like there’s a target on our back.”
With a different hero seemingly emerging from each game as the streak continues, the Mustangs found their starting unit ineffective and in early foul trouble against the aggressive Haybalers. No problem.
Ogden called on his bench early and often, and found Frankie Tomasetti and Kameron Handy raring to go. Facing a quick 4-0 deficit, Ogden called a timeout and turned to the junior duo for instant offense and in-your-face defense.
First, Handy stole the ball on a San Benito inbounds play and converted an easy score. Then, he took a pass and converted a reverse lay-up, and Gilroy followed up with a Tomasetti jumper to pull even at 6.
As the teams traded baskets for the rest of the opening quarter as ‘Balers’ reserve Todd Janisch started to heat up, too, it became clear that this would be a night for the substitutes.
By quarter’s end, Handy and Tomasetti combined for 10 points to help the Mustangs stay within 13-12 against an amped-up San Benito squad.
“Our bench just feels like, when we come in, we have something to prove,” said Tomasetti, who tied Handy for game-high scoring honors with 16 points.
Though Gilroy streaked to a comfortable 53-40 win over San Benito in the team’s TCAL opener earlier in the month, the Mustangs quickly found that the host ‘Balers weren’t going to go away quietly this time.
“They’re very, very scrappy,” said Ogden of the ‘Balers. “Their youthful exuberance was very impressive. It kind of got us out of our game.”
San Benito’s deft ball movement gave resulted in its biggest lead of the game at the 4:47 mark of the second quarter. Guard Vince Bautista passed to center Dean Wilkins at the free-throw line, who then promptly saw Janisch cut back-door and fed him the ball for a lay-up and a 21-14 lead.
But the savvy Mustangs didn’t panic and used five straight points from Chris Yates (yes, another reserve) to pull within 29-27 at the end of the half.
Gilroy (16-6) received an incredible 25 of its 27 first-half points from its bench, led by Tomasetti’s 10 points and Handy’s eight.
But Handy said the most important contribution from a Mustangs’ reserve didn’t even occur on the court.
After watching San Benito (9-12, 3-4 TCAL) dictate the action to the Mustangs throughout the first half, constantly leaving them on their heals, junior Destry Jones gave his teammates an earful at halftime.
“He riled us up with this really good speech and we were all just crazy and pumped,” said Handy of Jones. “He was pushing us around, getting all up in us like he was going to fight us. But it was emotional and it got us back in the game so we could come back and play like we did.”
Whatever Jones said, he should patent it and use it as a motivational speaker because once the Mustangs took the floor in the second half, they showed exactly why they haven’t lost since falling at Valley Christian on Dec. 14.
After seeing San Benito take a 32-29 lead on a three-pointer by Marty Bueno one minute into the third quarter, Gilroy clamped down on the defensive end to completely silence the ‘Balers.
“Offensively, we just couldn’t get our shots to fall or we’d [commit] a turnover,” said San Benito acting head coach Dan Quinn. “We were not getting the shots we were getting in the first half.”
The Mustangs’ 11-0 run put them in firm control heading into the final period, but the pesky ‘Balers willed themselves back to the delight of their roaring fans.
First, seldom-used guard Carlos Ramos gathered an offensive rebound and converted the put-back to bring San Benito within 40-34. Then, Bautista took a Bueno pass and drained a three-pointer, one of his three treys on the night.
Once sophomore Brian Haggett knocked down two free throws and followed with a three-pointer of his own, the ‘Balers tied the game at 42 with 5:55 left to play.
But the confident Mustangs (16-6, 7-0 TCAL) calmly weathered the storm and came right back with eight straight points and a 13-2 run of their own to put the game away.
Bottled up for most of the night, starters Ryan Chisolm, Jason Conrad and Dominik Wilkins came through in crunchtime.
Chisolm, who finished with eight points, put the Mustangs ahead for good with a short jumper on an inbounds play with 5:33 remaining. Conrad swooped out to the foul line to stuff Daryl Baladad’s jumper–one of the center’s four blocks–and then tipped in a teammate’s miss to put Gilroy up 48-40 the next trip down the floor. And Wilkins, who notched four assists, sank all four of his free throws in the waning seconds to ice the victory.
Janisch led San Benito with 10 points off the bench, while Bautista scored nine.
Quinn took over San Benito’s coaching duties as head coach John Becerra served a one-game suspension for receiving two technicals in the ‘Balers’ loss to Palma last Saturday.
Handy, who also led the Mustangs with seven rebounds and three steals, was just glad his team was able to get out of Hollister with a win.
“We knew it was going to be tough, but honestly we didn’t think it was going to be this tough,” said Handy.
The Mustangs had better get used to it. With five league games left to play, including a re-match next Wednesday against what will be a determined Live Oak team, Ogden said his team needs to stay composed.
“Each one, as it comes, is going to get bigger,” warned Ogden. “Live Oak is going to give us the same type of thing. We got ’em in overtime at their place and it’s going to be another dogfight.”
