Local fans got a preview of Friday night’s San Marcos-Santa Barbara rivalry games with lower-level action Thursday. With the boys’ and girls’ varsity squads preparing to battle at Santa Barbara City College, the junior varsity and frosh/soph teams played Thursday at Santa Barbara High.

The San Marcos frosh/soph girls broke a 6-6 first-quarter tie and ran away with an easy 43-15 victory to start the afternoon. Jenise Fretz scored 14 points and Jaritza Rodriguez added 10 for the Royals.

In the JV girls’ game, the Dons’ opened a 30-17 halftime lead and held off a fourth-quarter San Marcos rally to win, 46-35.

Santa Barbara had some balanced scoring with Ashley Gilmore, Riley Lloyd and Siondra Pereyra all contributing 10 points.

San Marcos guard Kimmie Sanchez’s three-pointer with a minute left on the clock closed the gap to seven, but that was as close as the Royals would get. Jeannette Mendoza was the game’s leading scorer with 16 points.

Capping off the series, the Royals’ boys’ JV had a big night on both ends of the floor from Shane Moore to win, 44-31. Moore finished with 18 points, including three three-pointers and had seven steals on defense.

Friday’s San Marcos-Santa Barbara varsity double-header at Santa Barbara City College begins at 5:45 p.m. with the girls. The boys’ game will tip-off at 7:30 p.m.

San Marcos Boys (13-5, 0-1)  vs. Santa Barbara Boys (10-1, 1-1)

San Marcos won two preseason tournaments and put together an 11-game winning streak. In their Channel League opener, the Royals fell to Dos Pueblos on the road, 50-39. The Dons’ highs and lows follow the play of sophomore Roberto Nelson. Santa Barbara dropped four in a row, plus its league opener in Ventura without him.

When the Royals have the ball: San Marcos can score both inside and out. The Royals led the county in preseason in three-point shooting. Trevor Hoplins, Nick Marquez, Brian Pearson and Jimmy Owens can all stroke it from outside. At 6-foot-6, Swedish transfer Frank Nordin is the big man in the middle for the Royals.

When the Dons have the ball: Can the Royals contain Nelson and his 25 points-per-game average? When Nelson is not scoring, he’s looking for Jimmy Sexton (16 ppg), Willie-Reese Jordan (15 ppg) and Ben Weismen (11 PPG).

San Marcos Girls (4-10, 0-1) vs. Santa Barbara Girls (7-11, 0-2)

San Marcos began the season 2-0, but then lost three games by a combined six points. On Tuesday, the Royals played tough against Dos Pueblos, trailing by three in the final minute. Santa Barbara dropped its first two Channel League games to powerhouses Buena and Ventura, but has a young team that has been consistently improving.

When the Royals have the ball: San Marcos’ Achilles heel has been scoring, failing to break 40 in eight games this season. If San Marcos can knock down some outside shots, the Royals should be able to find more openings in the middle for forwards Vanessa Mendez, Julie Nail and Jennifer Waddil.

When the Dons have the ball: Santa Barbara will look to utilize its athleticism and keep the game tempo fast. Megan Calderon has led the Dons in scoring, and head coach Andrew Butcher is hoping for a break-out game from Brandi Blackwell.

Alex Sheldon coaches San Marcos’ junior varsity girl’s basketball team.