San Marcos came out of the locker room a different team on Friday night at Sovine Gym, outscoring Dos Pueblos 16-4 in the third quarter en route to a 59-46 cross-town boys basketball win.
Sophomore sharp-shooter Chad Ridenour came up big in the surge, hitting successive 3-pointers within a minute of each other early in the quarter. He finished with a team-high 15 points, hitting all four of the Royals’ 3-pointers.
“There was a lot of pressure but it’s really fun,” said Ridenour of playing in such a big game. “The third quarter is always our quarter. We always win the third, so we just wanted to come out and take the lead and keep it.”
San Marcos guard Chad Ridenour grabs a rebound.
The victory improves San Marcos’ record to 15-3 overall and the Royals are now 3-0 in a Channel League race that is without a clear favorite.
Matt McClenathen was outstanding for the Chargers, scoring 26 points and pulling down 21 rebounds. He scored all but four of DP’s 20 second-half points. He was dominant on the offensive glass in the first half, which allowed the Chargers to stay close and trail 27-26 at halftime.
DP had 11 offensive rebounds in the first two quarters, while the Royals had 11 rebounds total in the half.
“If we just take care of the d-boards we’re gonna be fine, and that’s what we did (in the second half),” said Royals coach Jarrod Bradley. “McClenathen’s the best player in the gym, there’s no question about that. We couldn’t box him out. Even when we would get a body on him he would find the ball.”
But McClenathen couldn’t do it on his own, and a lack of balance was one of the main road blocks for Dos Pueblos, according to coach Joe Zamora.
“San Marcos was definitely more spread around… I felt that after two passes we stopped playing defense, and when you stop playing defense after two passes they make three or four and get wide open looks,” said Zamora. “That’s where the got their looks… We stopped playing defense.
“On the other hand, when we were on offense we’d pass the ball twice and then shoot it., so it’s hard to win games that way.”
The Chargers fall to 9-10 overall and 2-2 in the Channel League, but Zamora said that next week’s return of 6-8 center Malik Heptot should provide a big boost.
Zamora said that his team was well aware of Ridenour’s shooting, but just couldn’t find him in time.
“We were aware of his shooting… He’s a great shooter. Unfortunately, we didn’t communicate well and get to the spots where we were supposed to be to find him,” he said.
J.P Dodson added 14 points for the Royals, while Josh Guild had seven points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Ridenour also swiped five steals.
San Marcos (15-3, 3-0) hosts Ventura, the Channel League’s other undefeated team, on Friday while the Chargers (9-10, 2-2) head down to San Diego on Sunday to take on Mission Bay High School.
