Great players have a Plan B to fall back on when Plan A falls short.

Santa Barbara’s Roberto Nelson had one Friday night, in the packed SBCC gym throbbing with 1,600 fans, when his outside threat was doing just that. His second-half inside alternative did the job to erase a late San Marcos lead and seal a 61-56 crosstown win for the Dons.

Nelson scored a game-high 23 on the night, 14 in the second half, and seven in the last 4:04, driving inside repeatedly to close out a 53-49 Royals’ advantage and take the lead for good.

“Roberto struggled outside, no doubt,” Santa Barbara coach Chris Hantgin said. “He has a better shot than that.  But to his credit, he found his spots inside and came through for us.”

Taking away Nelson’s outside was exactly the game plan for the Royals, and it worked most of the night as they kept the lid on the explosive junior and built a 53-47 fourth-quarter edge on some point productivity from Brian Pearson, who ended with 12 for the night. Pearson took a great pass from Trevor Hopkins inside to open up a seven-point lead with 6:34 left, and nailed a three under pressure to keep it at 53-47.

But the Dons would not go away.

Spencer Thomas drilled a three of his own, and Willie Reese-Jordan (10) muscled inside for two more. That set the stage for Nelson’s late-game leadership and the Royals had no answer.

“Perseverance. That’s what it was,” Hantgin said. “They had that lead but we didn’t quit. Marques Morten (10) hit that three, and then stepped in to take that charge late to hold them off. We made the plays at the right time.”

Frank Nordin scored nine first-half points on some nice inside work for San Marcos but was hampered with fouls for much of the second. He led the Royals with 13. Hopkins and Nick Marquez, with 10 points apiece, provided some balance, but Santa Barbara’s defense prevailed down the stretch as San Marcos couldn’t find good shots, scoring only three in the last four minutes.

It was hot. It was loud. The seats were full of fans, red on one side, green on the other. Going in to the game, Santa Barbara was 10-11 and San Marcos 13-5, but none of that mattered as locals renewed this traditional combat.

“This environment was awesome,” Hantkin said with a smile afterward. “They should be geeked for the next one.”

The Dons, now 2-1 in Channel League play, enjoy a rest, while the Royals, 0-2 in league after a loss to Dos Pueblos earlier this week, will be looking forward to both of those “next ones.”

Won’t we all.