Star senior Koji Hefner crumbled to the floor as the final buzzer sounded, overwhelmed with joy and exhaustion.
The San Marcos High boys’ basketball team was determined to leave everything on the court in its final showdown against rival Santa Barbara, and that all-out effort resulted in a 63-52 victory on Friday night at the Thunderhut.
“Before the game, we said, ‘Let’s just leave zero in the tank today.’ I don’t think it’s any secret that we’ve had some ups and downs this year. I think we had a lot of expectations coming into the year, and we felt the pressure of that,” said San Marcos coach Matt Jordan. “Tonight was a culmination of the two years since I’ve been here, of the guys really buying into what we’re all about—the culture, giving everything they have.”
It had been nearly three years since San Marcos last defeated Santa Barbara in boys’ basketball, a 61-50 victory on February 3, 2023. None of the current San Marcos players participated in that game, although seniors Hefner and Brody Green were on the varsity roster as freshmen.
After a slow start, San Marcos took control of the game with tenacious defense and timely shot-making.
The Dons jumped out to a 9-2 lead on a backdoor layup by Levi Oakes with 5:30 remaining in the first quarter. San Marcos responded with an 8-0 run, capped off by a basket inside by Green, to take a 10-9 lead at the 3:10 mark of the opening quarter.
A transition dunk by Blake Lee put Santa Barbara back in front, 15-10, with 1:20 remaining in the first quarter, and the Dons held a 15-12 lead heading into the second.
The Royals went on an 18-5 run in the second quarter, capped by an Aidan Conlan corner three-pointer, to take a 30-20 lead with 20 seconds remaining in the first half as Santa Barbara struggled mightily against San Marcos’ 1-3-1 zone defense. However, Oakes responded with Santa Barbara’s lone three-pointer of the first half just before the buzzer to cut the deficit to 30-23.
“It didn’t look like it, but all we did in practice was work on a 1-3-1 offense,” said Santa Barbara coach Greg Zuffelato. “We didn’t execute well, and they did a heck of a job. Their activity and movement created so many problems for us.”
Santa Barbara cut its deficit to 33-32 on a left-handed layup by Owen Horn with 3:20 remaining in the third quarter but never regained the lead in the second half. Lincoln Gengo responded with one of his four three-pointers to push San Marcos ahead, 36-32.
“He’s a captain who is probably not in our top three best players, but he’s bought into what we’re about,” Jordan said of Gengo. “He has calf tendinitis that has really been bothering him and hasn’t played in our last three or four games. We don’t win this game without him tonight. He is incredible—an absolute dog.”
A three-pointer by Green with 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter gave San Marcos a 42-33 lead, which the Royals maintained throughout the fourth quarter.
Oakes knocked down a three-pointer with just over six minutes remaining to cut Santa Barbara’s deficit to 44-38, but that was as close as the Dons would get in the final period.
Hefner led all scorers with 18 points, including four three-pointers. Green added 16 points, and Gengo poured in 14.
Santa Barbara was led by Oakes, who finished with 17 points.
With the victory, San Marcos improved to 15-6 overall and 6-2 in the Channel League. Santa Barbara dropped to 13-8 overall and 7-1 in league play.
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