Clutch shooting down the stretch in front of a ruckus crowd powered Dos Pueblos boys basketball to a 69-67 victory over San Marcos on Wednesday inside Sovine Gym.
The Chargers (11-6, 2-3 Channel League) pulled out the win after a one-possession dogfight for the majority of the fourth quarter against the Royals (12-6, 3-2 Channel League).
The win is Dos Pueblos’ first against its crosstown rival San Marcos since the 2016-17 season.
“The top thing I had on the board today was defense, and then I put a dash, and I said, ‘Be special.’ We gave up some stuff, but we had to do it on the defensive end,” Dos Pueblos head coach Joe Zamora said.
“We haven’t beaten San Marcos in a long time, so they’re in [the locker room] all excited. It’s something that going forward is really going to help us.”
San Marcos head coach Matt Jordan was encouraged by his team’s performance in the emotional loss.
“I told the team in the locker room, they played really well tonight, and [DP] played better than we did, and that happens in sports, and that happens in life. Sometimes it’s not your night,” Jordan said. “We battled right into the end and we had a lot of chances.”
After a seesaw first three quarters of play, the Chargers held onto a 50-45 lead at the start of the fourth.
The Royals came out with a quick 5-0 run to tie the game at 50-50, sparking a series of big momentum swings back and forth.
The two sides traded buckets as San Marcos’ Aidan Conlan and Brody Green exchanged blows with Dos Pueblos’ Evan Pinsker and Wyatt Gardiner to tie the game at 53-53, 55-55 and 58-58 to send the crowd into a frenzy and force a timeout.
“The energy was crazy,” Pinsker said. “Aidan, on the other team, I’ve known him for years. He’s such a good player. We were going back and forth, trading buckets.”
Out of the timeout, the Chargers got a layup from Coulter Jay and a free throw by Gardiner to take a three-point lead. A few possessions later, Pinsker drilled a catch-and-shoot three-pointer to put his team up 64-59 with 2:38 to go.
Conlan responded with a three-pointer to make it a one-possession game once again, but that was as close as the Royals got down the stretch as Dos Pueblos controlled the pace and came up with clutch stops in the final minutes for the win.
“I really just think we were the team that stayed locked in,” Pinsker said. “We knew what we had to do and we came out there and executed.”
Pinsker was on fire from deep all night long, pouring in seven three-pointers and ending with a team-high 26 points.
“I was so proud of him and one of the reasons was last year he was sick for this game and we lost that game, and for a year, we’ve been thinking about that,” Zamora said. “He was really even-keeled. He didn’t rush shots… Evan just made really good decisions, and when you stretch out that defense, that opens up for the other guys.”
On the other side, Conlan hit six three-pointers of his own on his way to a game-high 27 points.
“[Conlan] has been incredible this year,” Jordan said. “He’s been the reason we’ve beaten some really good teams.”
The game got off to a physical start, as both teams looked to set the tone on defense. After the Chargers took an early 8-6 lead, back-to-back three-pointers by Pinsker and Jordan Caratachea ballooned the lead to 14-6 with 2:25 on the clock.
The Royals continued to battle and got to within one possession before a Pinsker long ball brought the DP lead to 20-15 heading into the second.
San Marcos transitioned into a full-court defense for most of the second and it paid off early, as the Chargers were kept off the board for just under the first four minutes of the quarter.
The Royals took their first lead of the night with a second-chance layup by Sergio Landeros to go up 21-20, but a step-back three by Pinsker gave DP the lead right back.
The two sides then went back-and-forth for the majority of the second, but the Royals ended the half with a midrange jumper by Green and a fast break layup by Conlan to tie the game at 33-33 at halftime.
The third quarter featured a flurry of action, with the Royals regaining the lead on two quick layups by Koji Hefner and Landeros. Gardiner immediately responded with a layup and a three to put DP back up 38-37.
Gardiner was making his return from an injury and he showed few signs of rust, collecting 22 points and 16 rebounds in the win.
“Just the confidence I can see in my team, they felt a lot more at ease… Even though they went on their runs and we went on our runs, there’s a calmness when [Gardiner] is out there,” Zamora said.
“It actually creates for other people, because now he’s the focal point of the defense, and that’s when Evan can have a night like he did tonight.”
Meanwhile, Hefner had a big night in the paint for the Royals with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
The game remained a one-possession battle for most of the third until Dos Pueblos capitalized on a turnover and a technical foul on San Marcos. Coulter Jay hit a layup off the turnover and knocked down both free throws to take a 50-45 lead with the final dramatic quarter to play.
“Late in the game, we fought,” Jordan said. “We would get a stop and then they’d hit another shot and it felt like we could never crest the hill. It felt like we could never really get over the hump.
“You’ve got to tip your cap. [DP] played unbelievably tonight.”