Mustangs fall apart late in 64-55 O.T. loss to Branham.
GILROY – A 10-point fourth-quarter lead slowly dissipated for the Gilroy High boys hoops team Tuesday and, eventually, turned into a disappointing 64-55 non-league loss to Branham.
“They got real tentative. They were playing afraid. They were playing not to lose the game,” said head coach Michael Baumgartner, following his squad’s debacle on its home court. “In the second half, they saw a seven-point lead and said let’s not lose this game instead of keep pushing and pressing.”
The Mustangs (2-5) led from the opening whistle until 11 seconds remained in the fourth quarter when Branham tied the score at 50 – pushing the game into an extra session.
Senior Erik Tollison led Gilroy scorers with a team-high 15 points and six rebounds, while teammates Kyle Loving (eight points, four rebounds) and Josh Gravell (eight points, five rebounds) both put forth strong efforts.
“He’s being aggressive. He’s pounding the boards,” said Baumgartner of Tollison. “We’ve got to get him more looks. We’ve got to get him the ball so he can get the confidence and the team confidence that we can score out of our offense.
“I was really impressed with Josh Gravell. He really got us going,” the head coach added. “Kyle Loving had a strong game.”
But the Mustangs were not strong down the stretch – allowing Branham to outscore them 18-8 in the final quarter and 14-5 in the four-minute overtime period.
“Offensively we struggled,” Baumgartner said. “Defensively, we would take 25 seconds off the shot clock and then allow a lay-up. We can’t do that. We allowed a lot of easy lay-ups.”
Afte building leads of 15-5 at the end of the first quarter, 31-24 at half-time, and 42-32 at the end of the third, Gilroy began to stumble – turning the ball over with telegraphed passes and poor ball-handling as well as failing to generate any open looks on offense.
“We have to score out of our offense, but who do I choose to take the shot. We’re still learning,” Baumgartner said. “Danny Vadillo can be the guy, but he wasn’t tonight. Blair (Wortham) had an off night.”
Vadillo drained a three-pointer with 4:30 remaining to put Gilroy ahead by 11 – but Branham finished the fourth quarter on a 10-1 run to even the score. Gilroy had a chance for the final shot – but Vadillo could not get an open look. Instead the game moved into overtime.
“If we’re going to be successful this year, these are the games we have to put away,” Baumgartner said. “We need the victories going into league.”
In overtime, the Mustangs still could not find their shooting touch as Branham ran away with the game and stole the ‘W’.
Gilroy will host the 23rd Annual Bob Hagen Memorial Basketball Tournament, beginning Thursday and running into Saturday. The Mustangs open up against Del Mar with tip-off at 8 p.m.
