A first-quarter haymaker by the San Marcos High boys’ basketball team proved too much for visiting Calabasas to overcome, as the Royals advanced to the second round of the CIF-SS Division 2 playoffs with a 69-51 victory on Wednesday night at the Thunderhut.
The Royals set the tone from the opening tip and outscored Calabasas 26-2 in the first quarter behind infectious energy on defense and incredible shot-making on offense.
“Not in an arrogant way, but we were really confident coming into the game. I feel like the team is not close to being done playing basketball yet,” said San Marcos coach Matt Jordan. “We were ready to play tonight. It was obvious from the jump, and it was led by our seniors.”
With the victory, the Royals have now won 10 games in a row and appear to be peaking at the right time.
Senior captain Brody Green racked up 21 points and 14 assists in what was one of the best all-around performances of his sensational high school basketball career. Koji Hefner added 18 points, 12 rebounds, and five blocks. Junior Aidan Conlan chipped in 15 points, four assists, and four steals.
Green barreled to the rim for a driving layup plus the foul at the 6:48 mark to put San Marcos ahead 6-0, and his early aggression was a sign of things to come.
He followed that up with a three-pointer at the 4:38 mark, an assist on a Conlan three-pointer on the ensuing San Marcos possession, and another three-pointer moments later that put San Marcos ahead 19-2.
“That’s the best game I’ve ever seen him play. When he puts it all together, he has the ability to be our best player,” said Jordan of Green. “You can’t stop him from getting to the paint. If he makes plays around the rim and sprays it out to shooters, we are such a hard team to beat.”
After falling behind 26-2, Calabasas found its stride in the second quarter, outscoring San Marcos 19-10 in the period and closing its deficit to 36-21 on a three-pointer just before the halftime buzzer by Tristan Cardoso.
The Coyotes cut their deficit to 57-45 midway through the fourth quarter on a fast-break layup by Tyson Bass, but that’s as close as Calabasas would come.
Aidan Conlan knocked down a corner three-pointer with three minutes left in the fourth quarter that extended the San Marcos lead to 62-47, and the Royals cruised to victory.
Calabasas senior Tristan Cardoso poured in 32 points in his final high school game. No other Calabasas player reached double figures in scoring.
San Marcos (22-6 overall) will host Rancho Verde (21-7) in the second round of the CIF-SS playoffs on Friday at 7 p.m.
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