After shooting the lights out with an 8-for-11 performance from long range on Saturday, the San Marcos boys basketball team made just one trey in the Holiday Classic on Monday.
But it wasn’t just the long-ball that was absent against Clovis West, as the bigger Royals couldn’t capitalize on their size advantage in a 55-40 loss.
“We couldn’t really convert on anything inside, so we were shooting a lot of pull-up jumpers and mid-range jumpers, and they weren’t really falling for us,” said coach Jarrod Bradley. “We got good shots, but they just didn’t go in.”
Chad Ridenour’s 11 points led the way for San Marcos, which trailed by as many as 23 points late in the fourth quarter before a 9-0 run in the final minute. The Royals shot 16-for-47 on the night.
“It was their help defense. Every time we drove the baseline they had three guys down there, and we weren’t kicking it out to the free throw line, where we had an open shot a lot of the time,” said Bradley. “Their defense did a great job forcing the baseline pull-up jumper.”
The Golden Eagles were up 18-6 before Christian Mkpado used a nice spin move in the post to score on a baby hook shot at the end of the first quarter. The lead stayed at 10 heading into the half, and Clovis West nailed one of its five 3-pointers to open the third quarter. San Marcos (10-3) went 0-for-9 from the floor in the period.
The late surge came far too late for San Marcos, which got eight points and 10 boards from Mkpado.
The Royals play Burbank Burroughs at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
TROY 43, SANTA BARBARA 31
It was a close game until the final minutes for the Dons, who went 14-for-38 from the floor and made just five of 12 free-throw attempts.
“It was a tough game. I just felt like we never really got any momentum. We just needed maybe three or four plays to get some momentum, but we just couldn’t get anything going,” said Santa Barbara coach Chris Hantgin.
The Dons’ inexperienced squad was coming off of its first win of the season against Northwood on Saturday, but there’s been little time for fine-tuning due to a 17-game schedule in the month of December. That includes five straight games in the Holiday Classic, their own tourney.
“The five games in a row thing is a joke. It’s just really, really hard, especially when you can’t practice,” said Hantgin. “The January schedule is much better for learning.”
R.J. Rosborough led the Dons with nine points. Spencer Mikles hit Daniel Marshall for a lay-up with 2:10 left in the game to pull the Dons within one at 32-31, but the Warriors responded with a clutch 3-pointer and pulled away from there.
Santa Barbara, now 1-13, plays Pacific Palisades at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
BOX SCORES
CLOVIS WEST 55, SAN MARCOS 40
CLOVIS WEST — Natsens 10, Watters 5, Ritchey 22, Johnson 10, Thompson 6, Cleveland 2. Totals 18 14-18 55.
SAN MARCOS — Manzo 5, Kirkwood 5, Guild 4, Mkpado 8, Ridenour 11, Dodson 1, White 6. Totals 14 9-12 40.
Clovis West…18 9 10 18 — 55
San Marcos…8 9 7 16 — 40
3-point goals — CW 5 (Ritchey 2, Thompson 2, Natsens 1), SM 1 (Ridenour). Total fouls — CW 12, SM 17. Technicals — Watters.
TROY 43, SANTA BARBARA 31
TROY — Lam 2, Anderson 15, Jones 2, Sy 8, Ahar 5, Mansfield 8, Maughan 3. Totals 14 12-24 43.
SANTA BARBARA — Mikles 4, Aronson 5, Madrigal 2, Anderson 2, Marshall 4, Rosborough 9, Adams 3, Martinez 2. Totals 13 5-12 31.
Troy…10 9 9 15 — 43
Santa Barbara…10 7 9 5 — 31
3-point goals — T 3 (Anderson, Ahar, Maughan). Total fouls — T 15, SB 16.
Do you still like your chances Coach Bradley??
No way SM would have got passed Clovis West or Palisades in this tournament. If SB ever manages too put together a complete game they will win alot of games
Do you still like your chances Coach Bradley??
No way SM would have got passed Clovis West or Palisades in this tournament. If SB ever manages too put together a complete game they will win alot of games