The San Marcos offense and defense pulled the ol’ switcheroo at halftime of Wednesday’s third-place game of the Holiday Classic, and it led to a 50-47 win over Troy.
“We played great defense and only scored 18 points in the first half, while in the second half our offense got going but we couldn’t stop them,” said coach Jarrod Bradley, whose team is now 12-3 heading into Channel League play.
All-tourney selection JP Dodson went 6-for-7 from the charity stripe down the stretch to seal the win, finishing with 15 points on the night. In fact, the Royals went 12-for-15 from the line as a team in the final period.
An 8-point lead with three minutes to go was whittled down to just one with seven seconds remaining, but Dodson was fouled and hit both of his freebies. Troy’s last-second 25-footer ended up as an airball.
Christian Mkpado had nine points and 10 rebounds for the Royals, and also drew his 12th charge of the season.
Clovis West defeated Pacific Palisades in the tournament’s title game. The Royals play Santa Barbara High at SBCC on Tuesday.
SAN MARCOS 50, TROY 47
SAN MARCOS — Manzo 11, Guild 4, Mkpado 9, Ridenour 2, Dodson 15, White 9. FT 18-23.
TROY— Anderson 7, Jones 2, Inzunza 2, Nicholson 2, Montoya 2, Sy 11, Voigt 3, Ahir 12, Mansfield 6. FT 13-18.
San Marcos…12 6 13 19 — 50
Troy…4 10 13 20 — 47
3-point goals — SM 2 (Manzo, Dodson), T 6 (Ahir 3, Anderson 2, Mansfield). Total fouls — SM 15, T 18.
