On a night San Marcos paid tribute to a couple of coaching legends, the Royals boys basketball team paid the price for making too many mistakes against a very good opponent.
The Royals had trouble holding on to the ball against a long, tall and active Ventura zone defense and fell 54-43 in a showdown of Channel League unbeatens Friday night on the newly dedicated Jon Lee Court at Maury Halleck Gym.
San Marcos coaching legends Jon Lee, left, and Maury Halleck, right, were honored at Friday’s pre-game ceremony.
Before the game, Halleck, the longtime boys basketball coach who guided the Royals to prominence in the 1970s and early ’80s, and Lee, the school’s highly successful girls and boys volleyball coach who won three CIF championships, were honored in a brief ceremony.
Sal Rodriguez, a local legend himself as an athlete and director of the Goleta Boys and Girls Club, presented Halleck.
Lee was introduced by one of his former players, 2008 Olympics beach volleyball gold medalist Todd Rogers.
The coaches were joined on the court during the ceremony by their families and members of their teams.
Rodriguez, marveling as he looked around the gym, “We started this thing 50 years ago,” he told Halleck, referring to the opening of the school and the gym. “Welcome to Maury Halleck Gym. It’s awesome.”
Rogers said he wished he had the wide vocabulary Lee possesses to describe what the coach has meant to him.
“I owe my career to the influence of Jon,” he said.
The event moved Ventura coach Dan Larson.
“It was a big night for San Marcos. It was fun to be a part of it,” he said. “I played (at Ventura High) when coach Halleck coached and it was really neat to see that. They did a great job running that ceremony. That was really important for me.”
Larson also was feeling good about the play of his team. After a sloppy start, the Cougars (13-7, 4-0) disrupted San Marcos with a suffocating zone defense. They forced several turnovers and took over the game. The Royals scored only one basket in the second quarter and were outscored 12-4 to fall behind 26-17 at halftime.
“My kids came out and played well,” Larson said. “San Marcos has a great team. Jarrod (Bradley) and Jeff (Lavender) are doing a great job, it was just our night. We were on tonight. The kids came out and executed the game plan. It was a good game for us.”
San Marcos’ JP Dodson takes a shot in the first half of Friday night’s clash with Ventura.
It was just the opposite for the Royals (15-3, 3-1).
“Way too many turnovers,” said Bradley about the difference for his team. “We telegraphed our passes and they read them. We had 21 turnovers for the game and we lose by 11.”
It was one of those nights for the Royal when they forced a turnover they would give the ball right back.
“We didn’t play together tonight,” Bradley said. “Guys weren’t on the same page. We didn’t really execute what we were trying to do defensively or offensively.
“It was one of those games. We’ve got to get over it.”
Dylan Houck was the catalyst at both ends of the floor for Ventura. The savvy junior guard scored a game-high 18 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and forced several turnovers.
“He’s dependable on defense and offense and that’s what you want,” said Larson of his two-year starter.
Back-to-back baskets by Josh Guild cut Ventura’s lead to six, 34-28, late in the third quarter, and the Royals had a chance for a another possession after a Ventura miss. But the Cougars’ Dustin Neary came up with a huge offensive rebound and Jared Wilson followed with a dagger-to-the-heart 3-pointer.
On the next sequence, Nick Rudolph stole the San Marcos inbound pass and scored a layup to put the Cougars ahead 39-28 at the end of the third quarter.
Richard Thomas scored baskets off a pair of San Marcos giveaways to make it 50-36 with less than two minutes left in the game.
“The kids executed the zone and the San Marcos shooters were off tonight,” said Larson of the keys to the game.
JP Dodson led San Marcos with 13 points.
VENTURA 54, SAN MARCOS 43
VENTURA — Reeves 9, Houck 18, Wilson 3, Thomas 7, Gwin 3, Rudolph 7, Tice 2, Garrett 5. Totals 19 10-13 54SAN MARCOS — Manzo 7, Guild 6, Koopmans 3, Mkpado 7, Ridenour 5, Dodson 13, White 2. Totals 12 17-23 43
Ventura…14 12 13 15 — 54San Marcos…13 4 11 15 — 433-point goals—V 6 (Houck 2, Reeves, Wilson, Gwin, Rudolph). SM 2 (Koopmans, Ridenour). Total fouls—V 15, SM 13. Fouled out—Tice. Records—V 13-7, 4-0 Channel League; SM 15-4, 3-1.
