Santa Barbara Holiday Classic Day Three: San Marcos Downs Roosevelt 67-56

The San Marcos High boys’ basketball team has found its groove under first-year head coach Matthew Jordan.

The Royals won their fifth game in a row overall and closed out the Santa Barbara Holiday Classic with a 3-0 record after defeating Roosevelt of Fresno 67-56 on Saturday afternoon at the Thunderhut.

“I think we’re a very unique high school basketball team because we share the ball in such an amazing way,” Jordan said. “When everyone is touching it we’re really hard to beat.”

Against Roosevelt four San Marcos players reached double figures led by Brody Green and Koji Hefner, who finished with 20 and 17 points respectively. Aidon Conlan chipped in 14 points, including four three-pointers and senior Danny Diaz continued his strong play with 13 points.

“A lot of the time in high school basketball your best players are your most selfish,” Jordan said. “I’ll say it until I’m blue in the face. We have two kids in Brody and Koji who want the best for their teammates.”

After a tight first quarter, San Marcos outscored Roosevelt 23-12 in the second quarter to break the game open. A three-pointer by Conlan with just under a minute remaining in the second quarter put the Royals ahead 41-27.

The San Marcos lead ballooned to 64-45 early in the fourth quarter after another Conlan three-pointer, but Roosevelt closed the game on an 11-2 run, which included a heavy dose of full-court pressure.

Roosevelt was led offensively by Cobi Posas, who finished with 14 points.

Santa Barbara 98, Hillcrest Christian 68

Santa Barbara bounced back from a heartbreaking loss to Dougherty Valley in overtime with a dominant performance against Hillcrest Christian

Five Santa Barbara players reached double figures, including Luke Zuffelato, Carter Battle, Brent Sharpton, Diesel Lowe and Owen Horn. Sharpton, who is a freshman, led all scorers with 18 points.

The Dons will take on Sierra Canyon on Monday beginning at 5 p.m.

Sierra Pacific 70, Bishop Diego 43

The Cardinals struggled to keep up with Sierra Pacific and dropped t0 1-2  at the Santa Barbara Holiday Classic.

Crew Sjovold led the way for Bishop Diego with 20 points.

Santa Barbara will host Sierra Canyon on Monday.