Benicia High’s boys varsity basketball team lost more than a game against host College Park on Tuesday. The Panthers may have lost senior power forward Kendal Vargas for a while.
Vargas, one of Benicia’s veteran leaders, injured his knee in the second quarter of a 82-61 loss to the Falcons and had to be taken to the hospital. The injury is just one more blow to a Panthers team that has lost four of its first five games to start the season.
Benicia (1-4) got off to another slow start Tuesday, digging a 19-9 hole to open the game. But the Panthers used long-range shooting to pull within 33-28 at the break and appeared ready to make a move when a call went against them.
A College Park player appeared to grab the rim while blocking a Benicia shot, but no technical foul was called. The Falcons then went on a 14-0 run to take command for good.
“That just sucked all the momentum out of us,” said Benicia head coach Steve Carter. “He clearly grabbed the him. All of the referees said they missed it and they apologized after the game.”
Dakarai Hughes had 17 points but was the only Panther to reach double figures. Steve Urias and Jack MacDowell each had nine points, and Brandon Barrett added eight points before fouling out. Benicia made nine 3-pointers on the night, three by Urias.
College Park’s Arash Ailyar went 10-for-11 from the free throw line and led all scorers with 19 points. Steven Daily added 18 points, Kevin Crosno had 15 points and seven rebounds, and Gav Beteta had eight points and eight assists for the Falcons (6-2).
Benicia hosts Vintage on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Leave a Reply