San Marcos has to be pretty annoyed right now.
The Dos Pueblos boys basketball team harassed the Royals all night long on Friday, forcing 20 turnovers in a 43-38 struggle at the Thunderhut that earned the Chargers their first Channel League win.
“It was a big game because we were playing San Marcos but we were also 0-2 in league, so we had to have this win if we want to contend for a league championship,” said Robert Vickers, who led DP with 15 points and five of the Chargers’ 15 steals.
“The coach knew that if you put pressure on them, they couldn’t handle it,” divulged Chargers center Malik Heptot, not like it was a secret at that point. “Hey, everybody saw what happened.”
The Chargers (10-8, 1-2 CL) had a nine-point lead to start the final period thanks to Evan Munoz’s trey near the end of the third, but needed to repel several mini-runs from San Marcos (10-8, 1-1) in the fourth quarter to preserve the much-needed victory in front of a better-check-the-fire-code sized crowd.
Josh Guild answered Munoz’s score with a putback layup and Nick Marquez followed with a 3-pointer to bring San Marcos to within four at 31-27. That would be the closest the Royals would get.
Jay Larinan’s putback started an 8-0 run for DP, which included three fastbreak layups created from steals to put the Chargers back up by 12 – their largest lead of the game – with four minutes left in the game.
The Royals managed two more runs, both aided by Shane Moore 3-point buckets, to no avail.
“We answered with our defense. Luckily, we got easy steals that led to easy buckets,” Vickers said, crediting head coach Joe Zamora with preparing them well during the week.
“Our defense was our offense today.”
A bulk of the Chargers’ point total came off of San Marcos turnovers, most coming from the Royals’ inability to break the press.
“I mean, is that something we’re aware of? Yeah, we’re aware that we’re going to be pressured and we need to take care of the ball,” maintained San Marcos head coach Jarrod Bradley. “That’s one of the things we tried to work on this week. Unfortunately for us, when they trapped us, we’re just not strong enough with (a press break).”
Marquez recorded a game-high 20 points for the Royals.
Heptot almost had as many blocks (5) as he did points (7), but he had more rebounds than anything, pulling down 11. Larinan added four steals and seven points.
“Coming off two hard losses, it’s good to win a rivalry game,” said an appreciative Heptot, who was reminded of its importance by his coach.
“Going to DP, I know what it’s like to play against San Marcos. As coach, I love that rivalry and I don’t like to lose that one,” related Zamora. “The kids enjoy it and I tell them before we go out, I’d trade positions with you any second.”
The Chargers have another crosstown matchup in their next Channel League matchup on Jan. 28 vs. Santa Barbara. First, DP travels to San Diego on Saturday for a non-league game against University City.
The Royals also have the Dons next on their Channel League schedule for next Friday, but have a non-league game vs. Nordhoff on Tuesday.
DOS PUEBLOS 43, SAN MARCOS 38
DOS PUEBLOS – Miranda 6, Munoz 4, Larinan 7, Heller 2, Vickers 15, Heptot 7. Totals – 18, 6-15, 43.
SAN MARCOS – Vines 5, Marquez 20, Rios 3, Moore 6, Mkpado 2, Guild 2. Totals – 13, 7-12, 38.
Dos Pueblos 4 14 13 12 – 43
San Marcos 7 6 9 14 – 38
3-Pointers – DP 1 (Munoz), SM 4 (Marquez 2, Moore 2). Total Fouls – DP 15, SM 16. Fouled Out – None. Technical Fouls – DP Munoz, SM Rios. Records – DP 10-8, 1-2. SM 10-8, 1-1.
(Photos taken by John Dvorak/PresidioPics. To order prints, email [email protected])
