San Marcos held off Ventura in the second half and pulled out a 48-43 boys basketball win in the Channel League opener Wednesday night at the Thunderhut.
Scott Everman scored 20 points, grabbed seven rounds and had five steals to pace the Royals. Kele Mkpado returned to action after suffering a deep laceration on his arm before the season and hauled in seven rebounds and played tough defense.
San Marcos coach Landon Boucher was glad to have Mkpado back on the court.
“It was Kele’s first game back,” he said. “He did very well by starting off his season with a dunk for his first two points. He came up huge for us down the stretch by getting rebounds and playing great D.”
The Royals got off to great start, opening up a 19-7 lead in the first quarter. They expanded the advantage to 27-12 at halftime.
Ventura caught fire in the second half. The Cougars (8-10) outscored the Royals 20-10 in the third quarter to narrow the deficit to five, 37-32.
San Marcos (14-4) kept its composure and got clutch play from Mkpado in the fourth quarter to secure the win.
“I’m proud of the boys to pull a close one out,” Boucher said. “We also learned a few lessons along the way. We definitely improved tonight as a team.”
The Royals play at Santa Barbara on Friday night.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.