San Marcos put together a complete performance and throttled Dos Pueblos, 53-34, in a crosstown Channel League boys basketball game on Friday night.
The Royals shot 50 percent from the floor, including 7 of 14 from behind the 3-point line. Defensively, they held DP to 19 points through three quarters.
“Our focus was to not allow them to get going from the 3-point line,” San Marcos coach Dave Odell said. “They only made one in the game and that was in the first quarter.”
The Royals jumped out to an 11-2 lead but DP closed the quarter on a 5-2 run to make it 13-7. The second quarter remained tight until 3- pointers by Wes Ghan-Gibson and Tyson Miller closed out the half and gave the Royals a 25-14 lead.
San Marcos held DP to just five points in the third quarter to take a 35-19 lead into the final quarter.
“San Marcos shot the ball well,” DP coach Joe Zamora said. “We struggled to score and missed a lot of shots.”
Erik Olson, Dayne Gardiner, Kurtis Randmaa and Jayson Williams each scored six points for Dos Pueblos.
Elijah Johnson led the Royals with 16 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Christian Widmer ran the attack and had 8 points along with a team-high 6 rebounds.
Odell lauded the play of Ghan-Gibson. He had 10 points on 3-of-3 shooting (2-for-2 on 3-pointers) and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. He also grabbed 4 rebounds.
“Wes rolled his ankle on Tuesday in practice. I really didn’t think he would be able to play as it was swollen pretty good and he hadn’t practiced at all,” Odell said. “But Wes is a tough kid and he said if he could walk he’d play … and play he did. He was in many ways the difference in the game.”
Scott Everman contributed 8 points (on 3 of 4 shooting, 2-3 on threes) and 4 rebounds for San Marcos.
Bryce Ridenour missed the game with symptons of a concussion.
“We needed a balanced attack and we got that … everyone pitched in,” said Odell. “With Luke Larsen and Bryce out, and uncertainty with Wesley, we brought Thomas Hantgin up to varsity. He played solid minutes of great defense in a pressure rivalry game. I was proud of what Thomas brought in his first varsity game.”