Benicia High’s boys varsity basketball team finally finished a game Tuesday night, and that earned the Panthers a hard-fought 65-63 victory over host Vallejo.
The Panthers, who have struggled all season to close out games, trailed by nine at halftime before righting the ship. Benicia switched to a 1-3-1 zone defense to force turnovers and a motion offense to create points, and both strategies worked as the Panthers ended the game with a 33-22 run to pull out their first Solano County Athletic Conference win of the season.
“This is our biggest win of the year and it gives us an outside chance to make the playoffs,” said Benicia head coach Steve Carter.
The Panthers (7-13, 1-3 SCAC) missed five free throws in the final seconds while holding a slim lead but the Redhawks couldn’t take advantage. Vallejo (10-7, 2-2 SCAC) had two good shots to tie the game in the final five seconds but missed both.
Benicia sophomore Dakarai Hughes scored 10 of his team-high 17 points in the fourth quarter and senior center Brandon Barrett added 13 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks.
Evan Austrie led Vallejo with 15 points, including four 3-pointers.
Benicia took its first lead at 55-54 with 3:17 left on an inside shot from Kendal Vargas, who finished with 11 points.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Panthers, who travel to American Canyon on Thursday and play at St. Patrick-St. Vincent on Saturday. American Canyon has won only one SCAC boys varsity basketball game in school history.
“Hopefully we can get American Canyon next,” Carter said.
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