Royals rake in 11th straight win: San Marcos gains semifinals with wild Holiday Classic victory over Oxnard

DENNIS BATEMAN, NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Frank Nordin goes high for a basket as teammate Nick Marquez, left, and Oxnard players look on. MICHAEL MORIATIS / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS

December 28, 2007 7:46 AM

The San Marcos boys basketball team has had a splendid start to its season that for the most part has gone by with little notice. After dropping their first two games, the Royals have not lost in the month of December while playing most of their games in tournaments outside of Santa Barbara. Now with a second straight victory in the Santa Barbara Holiday Classic, this time a thrilling 52-51 triumph over Oxnard, San Marcos is making the most of its opportunity to play on its biggest stage so far this season.

"It feels great, and we knew that they were a good team," said Royals head coach Jarrod Bradley, whose team won its 11th straight game Thursday and earned a spot in the tournament semifinals.

San Marcos (11-2) started the tournament with a 75-29 rout of an overmatched Costa Mesa team, but would face a big test against the traditional Pacific View League powerhouse Yellowjackets.

Nick Marquez helped the Royals assert themselves quickly with a pair of 3-pointers in the game's first two minutes to build an 8-0 lead. Though Oxnard rallied for nine unanswered points, it was clear that San Marcos had made a definitive opening statement.

"When you get down, a normal reaction is to try to do too much. We talked about it during the game, and we just had to stay with what we were doing," Bradley said.

At several moments in the first half, it seemed that Oxnard might begin to run away with the game, but the Royals stayed focused and clawed their way back with effective defensive rebounding. Trailing by one with time running out, Marquez hit his third 3-pointer as the clock expired to give San Marcos a 25-23 halftime lead.

The Royals showed they had more where that came from, as Brian Pearson hit consecutive 3-pointers at the beginning of the third quarter for another 8-point San Marcos lead.

"We stayed in our game and kept up the pressure. Our goal was to get inside on them and then kick out with our 3-point shooting," said Pearson, who scored a team-high 17 points.

In all, the Royals hit on 10 from long range, with four coming from Marquez. But San Marcos went cold after that early third quarter surge, as the Yellowjackets exploded for 16 unanswered points.

The Royals battled back late in the fourth quarter, as key baskets by Pearson, Marquez and Scott Moll tied the game at 51. With under 30 seconds left, Marquez was fouled as he drove for a final basket. Sinking one of two free throw attempts, Marquez lifted San Marcos to a 52-51 advantage.

Oxnard made its final bid for victory, and the Royals defense smothered the Yellowjackets. Ryan Islas' final shot went awry and Pearson grabbed the ball as time expired and the Royals mobbed each other on the court in celebration.

"Our strategy was to screen them out. Knowing they had to get the ball to No. 22 (Islas), we just had to keep them from making a good shot," said Bradley, who praised the defensive scheme introduced by assistant coach John Slavin.

In addition to Pearson's 17, Marquez had 13, while Frank Nordin had 14 points and 15 rebounds.

San Marcos now moves into a tournament semifinal today at 7 p.m. against Santa Monica, 55-43 winners over Venice. The 9-3 Vikings are the defending tournament champions.

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In other Holiday Classic action:

GREEN DIVISION

SAUGUS 68, BURROUGHS 65, OT

Michael Cassio had a game-high 25 points for the Centurions, who got the win after ending regulation in a 54-54 deadlock. Cassio got 12 of his points in overtime, hitting an impressive 9-of-10 free throws in the extra period.

Steve Shamunee had 22 points for Burroughs in the loss.

AGOURA 80, COSTA MESA 31

Kevin Graf's 14 points led the Chargers to a win, and he was aided by 11-point efforts from teammates Nathan Levy and Ben Ricard.

MIRA COSTA 72, CURTIS (WA.) 68

Nate Easterman had 24 points for the Mustangs. Trailing 46-47 after three quarters, Mira Costa outscored the Vikings 28-21 in a wild fourth period.

CORONA DEL MAR 62,

PACIFIC PALISADES 59

Joe Eberhard again was king with 23 points to help the Sea Kings advance to a winner's bracket semifinal. Josh Gilmore and Irvin Kintaudi both scored 16 points for the Dolphins.

SANTA MONICA 55, VENICE 43

The Vikings got 21 points from Edward Willis on the way to victory. Sean Ryozaki had 17 points for the Gondoliers.

UPLAND 53, CLOVIS WEST 44

The Highlanders finished off the Golden Eagles with a 23-point fourth quarter to advance to the semifinals. Kevin Bradshaw had a team-high 24 points, while Elliott Berry had 17 for Clovis West.

GOLD DIVISION

ST. MARGARET'S 63,

BISHOP DIEGO 33

The Tartans dominated throughout, building a 45-16 lead. Tyler Stowers' 17 points led St. Margaret's, while David Renick again led the Cardinals with 12 points.

NORTHWOOD 59,

SANTA BARBARA JV 25

The Timberwolves led by a pair of leading scorers, Steven Cox and Jonathan Minoofar, who both had 12 points against the JV Dons.

OAK PARK 55,

EAST BAKERSFIELD 53, OT

Bobby Hillard had 22 points and Andy Winningham scored 11 to give the Eagles the extra-period victory.

WEST TORRANCE 63,

SOUTH PASADENA 33

Jon Henry and Sean Nelson both scored 13 points for the victorious Warriors. The Tigers were led by 13 points from Eugene Kim.