Marcellous Gossett
Dylan Shugart
Dos Pueblos picked up its first Channel League victory in the final game of the season on Tuesday, rallying to defeat injury-plagued San Marcos 48-36.
“I’m really happy for the guys because they’ve gone through a lot of struggles this year with injuries and missing guys,” said Chargers head coach Joe Zamora. “But it comes down to the fact that I asked them to compete tonight and the guys did.”
Dos Pueblos held the Royals, who were playing without team leaders Scott Everman and Ryan McCarthy, to four points in the third quarter and broke the game open with a 23-3 run that lasted into the fourth quarter.
Dos Pueblos, led by Marcellous Gossett’s 10 points and seven rebounds, featured nine different scorers.
“It makes it that much more fun to watch and it makes everyone successful because now you have to decide what you’re going to try and take away. Everyone really stepped up,” Zamora said.
While Dos Pueblos’ season is over, San Marcos will seek to snap its four-game league losing streak on Thursday at home against Ventura.
The Royals were once atop the league standings but have fallen on hard times. San Marcos had been without leading scorer Everman for several games but lost McCarthy, the team’s starting point guard, to an ankle sprain on Monday.
“Guys were playing in situations they’ve never been in,” said San Marcos head coach Landon Boucher.
San Marcos still managed to look strong in the first quarter, taking an 8-0 lead at the start.
“We came out well and I think we ran out of gas, got a couple early fouls and we were unable to keep that momentum,” Boucher said.
Kele Mkpado, whose 13 points were a game-high, was in foul trouble all night as was teammate Peter Durak. The Royals’ lead shrank to 21-20 at halftime.
The Chargers caught up at 22-22 and took their first lead with 5:30 remaining in the third quarter on a basket by Gossett at 25-23. Jayson Williams led a 2-on-1 fast break on the next possession, feeding Gossett for another basket and a four-point lead.
The Royals answered to cut the lead to two points but then went on an extended scoring drought that allowed Dos Pueblos to extend the lead to 18 points.
“It was definitely a good feeling to send (the seniors) off with a win,” Williams said. “All smiles instead of ending 0-8 in league.”
The Chargers have a bright future only losing three seniors – Nick Ditmeijer, Colby Hill and Nate Johnson – to graduation.
“(The Royals) were missing two really important guys but I think we played really well as a team and I think we’re maturing,” Williams said.
San Marcos hosts Ventura on Thursday night in its final regular season game. The Royals fall to 3-4 in league play and are now tied with Buena after the Bulldogs defeated Ventura (4-3) on Tuesday. Buena and Santa Barbara meet in the other league game on Thursday.
