Nick Marquez knocked down four 3-pointers en route to 20 points and a 57-37 San Marcos victory over Cabrillo Thursday in the Jim Bashore Classic.
“I think we’re getting more comfortable playing with each other,” said Marquez. “The first two tournaments we were in were a little rough, but we’re starting to gel.”
Bryant Koopmans chipped in 10 points in what turned out to be a physical contest, something which San Marcos coach Jarrod Bradley welcomes this year.
“The beef on San Marcos has kind of been that we’re soft, and that’s one thing I’ve been working on with these guys. We’ve gotta play hard and be strong with the ball,” he said. “Tonight we protected the ball and didn’t turn it over a lot, and I’m real proud of the guys for that.”
San Marcos had a 34-25 lead at the half, but the Conquistadores stormed out of the gates with a 5-0 run to start the third that closed the gap.
Chris Vines picked up a big block with 4:40 left in the quarter and Marquez soon added a trey as the Royals went up 39-30. The gap closed a bit to 41-35 at the start of the fourth, but Vines completed a pair of nice drives from the left side and Koopmans drove through a host of defenders for a lay-up, suddenly opening the game up at 48-35 with 4:10 left.
Marquez kissed a jumper off the glass late in the game that had Bradley fired up on the sidelines, and the Royal reserves stepped in to go the rest of the way.
(Photos by Blake Dorfman/PresidioPics. To order prints, email [email protected]).
SAN MARCOS 57, CABRILLO 37
SAN MARCOS—Vines 9, Marquez 20, Koopmans 10, Rios 2, Mkpado 3, Goldsholl 3, Yinger 4, Guild 6. Totals 20 8-11 57.
CABRILLO—Terrones 10, Phillips 8, Ayyan 7, Ferrvolo 4, Brown 2, Wilson 2, Rosson 2. Totals 15 6-8 37.
3-point goals—SM 7 (Marquez 4, Koopmans 2, Goldsholl 1), C 3 (Terrones 2, Ayyan 1).
Total fouls—SM 9, C 15.
