Bryce Ridenour and Christian Widmer got into early foul trouble, and San Marcos scored only six points in the fourth quarter and fell to Buena, 53-51, in a Channel League boys basketball opener at the Dog House on Wednesday.
San Marcos had an opportunity to tie the game but it lost the ball on a drive to the basket.
Ridenour led San Marcos with 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Sophomore Scott Everman scored 13 points and Elijah Johnson added 12. Buena’s Kevin Poe nailed four 3-pointers for 12 points to lead the Bulldogs.
“Buena is a better team this year than they have been in the past few seasons,” San Marcos coach Dave Odell said. “They are balanced and have some guys that can shoot it. They also have some nice inside role players that play smart and rebound.”
San Marcos had the lead until the final 8.6 seconds when Buena scored on a layup.
“I thought we made a lot of mistakes defensively that costs us the game,” Odell said. “They were hitting everything from the perimeter and made the plays that we didn’t down the stretch.”.
Odell noted that for the majority of his team, playing in a varsity league game was a new experience.
“We only have three players with any varsity Channel League experienced. Tonight, the youngsters learned some valuable lessons about what it takes to be successful in this league. Channel Leagues games are different then non-league games. I think this was an eye opener; every possession is important and most games are decided by a few key plays,” said Odell. “Bryce and Christian’s foul trouble really hurt us tonight. They are our most experienced players and when they aren’t on the floor, we are not nearly as good.”
