Scott Everman splits Santa Barbara defenders Ben Clay, left, and Matt Gilligan, right, for two of his 21 points.
Scott Everman and Kele Mkpado delivered strong second-halves for San Marcos on Tuesday as the Royals rallied past Santa Barbara High, 50-38, in the championship game of the Jim Bashore Holiday Cage Classic at Carpinteria High.
Down 21-14 at halftime and 33-29 at the end of the third quarter, San Marcos benefitted from 7-0 runs to begin each of the final two quarters.
San Marcos’ Kele Mkpado drives to the hoop for a three-point play.
Everman, the tournament’s MVP, scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to tie the game, followed by a three-point play from Mkpado that gave the Royals the lead for good. Everman finished with a team-high 21 points while Mkpado, an all-tournament selection, avoided foul trouble and collected 17 points and 10 rebounds.
“Tonight was the first night that we played defense how we wanted to all year,” said Royals head coach Landon Boucher. “We’ve won some games this year, but it hasn’t been because of our defense.”
San Marcos held the Dons to two points in the fourth quarter until a late 3-pointer by Brace in the final minute with the game already out of reach.
“I think we had a lot of guys that really stepped it up and stay composed during the end,” Everman said. “Considering we have a young team, not many seniors, I felt like Ryan McCarthy really ran our offense and got us all patient at the end of the game. We just hit shots.”
The Dons were averaging over 77 points per game coming into Tuesday, but were limited to a season-low 38 points by San Marcos.
“We didn’t shoot well and I think some of their defense was responsible for that. They played really good,” said Dons head coach David Bregante.
It was just the second loss in 12 games for Santa Barbara.
“We needed a game like that,” Bregante admitted. “We needed a grind-out, tough, physical (game).
“They controlled the tempo, they were taking 20-30 seconds off the shot clock, they were very disciplined, made us play defense a long time, and we never could get going up and down the floor like we want to play.”
Santa Barbara High’s Bolden Brace and Max Henderson were named all-tournament from the Dons.
Even though the Dons led for most of the first three quarters, Santa Barbara struggled from the 3-point line throughout the game. The Dons, who made 14 baskets from long range on Monday, were just 3-for-24 on Tuesday.
“They had a lot of shots that they normally hit,” Boucher said of the Dons. “And they had some open 3s by some really good shooters, and we were fortunate enough to contest and rebound.”
It was the third straight year that San Marcos has won the Bashore Tournament.
The Channel League rivals will play two more times in January during the Channel League season.
Rio Mesa defeated Cabrillo in the third-place game, 70-59.
Nipomo kept tournament-host Carpinteria from going 4-0 with a 61-59 decision. The Warriors led by as many as nine points in the fourth quarter but Nipomo converted the winning basket with 30 seconds remaining.
The Warriors had a chance for the tie or the win, but a last-second three-pointer was off the mark.
“Three and one is great for us in this tournament with the caliber of schools in it this year,” said Warriors head coach Johnny Ward. “I’m happy, especially with how we responded after the way we played yesterday.”
The Warriors were led in scoring by Omar Miranda’s 31 points. The senior guard averaged 23.5 points in four games and was named to the all-tournament team.
In other action, Bishop Diego defeated Laguna Blanca, 50-44. Nordhoff dumped Santa Ynez 51-40 and Channel Islands topped Hueneme 63-57.
San Marcos won its third Bashore Tournament title in a row.
Tuesday’s Results
Channel Islands 63, Hueneme 57
Bishop Diego 50, Laguna Blanca 44
Nordhoff 51, Santa Ynez 40
Nipomo 61, Carpinteria 59
3rd Place: Rio Mesa 70, Cabrillo 59
Championship: Santa Barbara vs. San Marcos
