San Marcos rolled to a 74-46 victory over Laredo LBJ off the back of a 19-6 first quarter that set the tone for the rest of the game. Rattlers’ fullcourt press and constant ball pressure disrupted the Wolves’ offense for 32 minutes, and the San Marcos’ offense capitalized off turnovers as well as executing their offensive sets.
“It was really important to (get off to a fast start), because Laredo LBJ is a team that when they have leads and they get up by six or more, they’re going to slow it down and move the ball,” Head Coach Dan Miller said. “They beat Austin Anderson playing that way in the 20s, so we knew that a fast start was important and the guys really bought into it. We picked up our pressure from the start, played full court defense and I thought we did a good job of setting the tone that we’re going to be in control of this game tonight.”
San Marcos (12-4) opened the matchup with something they implemented about halfway through their previous game against Austin LASA — a full-court press. The Rattlers’ length and athleticism was imposed on the Wolves from the opening tip, which led to hands in passing lanes and on-ball pressure that resulted in a barrage of steals. The Purple and White were able to run in transition and get easy looks in advantageous situations on the break, leading to a 19-point quarter and a 13-point lead after the first period.
LBJ (8-10) opened up the second quarter with a 9-3 run to try to get back in the game, forcing Rattler turnovers that helped the Wolves cut San Marcos’ lead to 22-15 midway through. The Purple and White got back to business after that — ending the period with a 12-4 run of their own to build a 15-point advantage heading to halftime.
“Just improving off last game, we wanted to have more ball pressure,” Junior guard Josiah Hollman said. “And Coach Miller’s main focus for us was to get on them early (and keep the pressure). So he had the game plan and we just had to execute. I think what really meshes us together is our defensive end. As long as we’re good on defense we can be a great team.”
The Rattlers were able to build their lead up to 18 midway through the third quarter, but really began to assert their dominance in the second half of the period. Senior guard Zyair Jolivette had a 15-point quarter, including 13-straight off the back of three straight three-pointers as well as two layups off the dribble in the latter half of the eight minutes. San Marcos exploded with a 22-8 run during Jolivette’s scoring spree, which built the Purple and White’s lead to 63-31 heading into the fourth.
“It’s so important to have four quarters of focus and at any point Zyair can get going like that. We saw it last week in his 33 point game and tonight he got going like that. Josiah contributed with 19 and a very good game on the boards too. I thought Cash did some good things as a point guard tonight as well. But Zyair’s explosiveness in that quarter was on display. The three threes in a row, he can get going,” Miller said. “I felt that the guys were locked in. They really wanted to get this one. We saw LBJ do some good things on film — they’re tough and they don’t give up. So, we wanted to make sure we were staying focused and the guys were tonight.”
San Marcos finished off the Wolves in the final period despite LBJ scoring a game-high 15 points in the quarter, securing the 28-point win. The Rattlers will look to build on their four-game win streak against Victoria West (55) at Victoria West High School on Dec. 15 at 6:30 p.m.
“I thought there were some good things that we did last week to finish games, but (we emphasized) focus from the start, we lost a little focus in the middle of those games. We play a lot of juniors, most of the time we have four juniors on the court,” Miller said. “So the guys are kind of learning that at the varsity level, you have to be locked in for 32 minutes. Every possession, defend every dribble with passion and communicate the entire time. So I think they’re getting that. The thing that makes me the most happy is I just feel a team that’s really together. They’re growing more and more together, and that’s extremely important.”
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