Rebound was the word of the day for the San Marcos boys basketball team.
The Royals were out to rebound from their losses to Dos Pueblos and Santa Barbara and dominate the backboards in the Senior Night game against Buena on Thursday.
Mission accomplished.
San Marcos pounded the boards, outrebounding Buena 34-18 and grabbing 12 offensive rebounds in a 65-34 rout at the Thunderhut.
“It was fun to see the team get the offense rolling again; that will help us as we move into the Division 3AA playoffs next week.” San Marcos coach Dave Odell said. “In our keys to winning, we put rebounding at the top of the list.”
Jake Wheelock scored 16 points had five assists and crashed the boards for seven rebounds. Uriel Hurtado regained his touch and scored 14 points on 7-for-8 shooting and also grabbed seven rebounds and had three assists.
“Royals played inspired basketball and treated the loyal fans, ‘he Pride’ to the fast-breaking basketball they had been accustomed to earlier in the year,” said Odell.
The Royals (17-8 overall) blew the game open in the third quarter, outscoring the Bulldogs 23-6.
San Marcos finishes second in the Channel League with an 8-4 record. Two weeks ago, the Royals were on top of the standings, but they lost home games to Santa Barbara — on an overtime, half-court buzzer shot by Noah Burke — and Dos Pueblos.
“We are not happy with second place and, of course, it’s hard not to think about that 50-foot shot from by (Santa Barbara’s) Noah Burke, which was the difference between first and second place, but the guys have learned a lot in the last two weeks and I believe that will serve us well in CIF,” said Odell.
