When a big and physical hoops team also finds its shooting touch, watch out.
San Marcos did just that in its opener at the Santa Barbara Holiday Classic on Friday, going 8-for-11 from beyond the arc in a 72-61 win over Agoura.
The Royals overcame 11 turnovers in the fourth quarter (20 overall), showing impressive balance offensively with five players in double figures.
“The key was definitely the spread of offense that we had,” said point guard J.P. Dodson, who scored a team-high 15 points. “With five guys in double-figures, it was hard for them to take us out of our game because we had so many offensive threats.”
Josh Guild went 5-for-5 down low, but the Royals (10-2) got sloppy down the stretch.
San Marcos' JP Dodson attacks the basket against Agoura
“Yeah, we had a lot of turnovers against their press at the end. Maybe we stopped playing as hard because we knew we kind of had it in the bag, but we need to execute no matter what,” said Dodson.
Dodson scored on a fast break near the end of the third quarter that put the Royals up by 17 at 58-41 — their biggest lead of the afternoon. It got down to 11 at 68-57 with two minutes to play, but it was too little, too late for the Chargers.
Chad Ridenour swished three long-balls on the night. Coach Jarrod Bradley was pleasantly surprised by his team’s offense.
“After a few days off and eating all that turkey I honestly thought we wouldn’t come out so well offensively. That’s why we had an optional shoot-around last night… Sometimes the shots will fall like they did tonight, but we’re not gonna plan on shooting 70-percent from 3-point range,” he said.
What the Royals are planning on doing is making a run at the title in the 8-team tournament.
“I like our chances,” said Bradley.
San Marcos plays Clovis West at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. Agoura is now 4-7.
SAN MARCOS 72, AGOURA 61
AGOURA — Khan 6, Weber 16, Bohner 3, Oppenheim 2, Boloor 15, Wallace 13, Sears 4, Wilson 2. Totals 21 13-18 61.
SAN MARCOS — Manzo 10, Kirkwood 3, Guild 10, Koopmans 3, Mkpado 13, Ridenour 11, Dodson 15, White 7. Totals 22 8-12 72.
Agoura…16 11 17 17 — 61
San Marcos…17 22 19 14 — 72
3-point goals — A 4 (Wallace 2, Boloor 1, Bohner 1), SM 8 (Ridenour 3, Manzo 2, Koopmans 1, Dodson 1, White 1). Total fouls — A 12, SM 19. Fouled out — Mkpado.
