DOMINANT DISPLAY: San Marcos picks up 10th straight win, downs Victoria West

No. 19 San Marcos’s relentless, suffocating defense was on full display Friday night inside the “Snake Pit.”

San Marcos (16-2) wreaked havoc all night to get Victoria West (5-7) out of its rhythm en route to a wire-to-wire triumph, 70-19.

“It was all part of the game plan, we watched film on this team,” said senior Malik Presley. “Coach [Dan Miller] said we were going to pressure from the start, and I think my teammates did a great job executing.”

That pressure defense that Presley mentioned was seen in the first half as the Rattlers jumped out quickly to an 18-2 first-quarter advantage. San Marcos forced four turnovers in the first eight minutes.

“We are just trying to get better every day at our defensive man-to-man pressure,” head coach Dan Miller said. “I think we really brought it tonight from start to finish. [Victoria West was] very patient on offense, so we wanted to increase the pressure and get them out of their actions. We were able to do that from the jump.”

Into the second quarter, that defensive pressure remained steady throughout as San Marcos padded its lead to a 35-4 halftime score. Presley led all scorers at the break with 11 first half points.

“It was definitely part of the game plan to take them out of their action and defend the three-point line,” Miller said. “They were coming off a district win, and they had won a couple games in a row, and the film we watched they had shot it really well. It really was a team defensive effort, tonight.”

The second half was much of the same as the first half as the Rattlers continued to that tough man-to-man defense wreaking havoc for the Warriors.

San Marcos’ second half start on defense led to three fast break dunks in the third quarter, two of which came off forced Victoria West turnovers.

“It was a great start to the second half, we all fed off each other’s energy,” Presley said. “My teammates were making great passes, so I can get out there and dunk the ball, and they feed off my energy when I get up in the air. I just love playing with this team.”

After three quarters, the Rattlers still held a commanding 55-14 advantage, and cruised through the final eight minutes to their 16th win of the season.

On Friday night, senior Jayven Cofer got the start at point guard with senior point guard Kaden Gumbs out, he chipped in with nine points and five assists to go along with stout defense at the point.

“We just wanted to get up on them, smother them, and force turnovers,” Cofer said. “That is exactly what we did. We just ran them out of the gym, exactly what we planned on doing.”

The Rattlers shot 47.5% from the field against the Warriors and made seven from behind the arc with Presley knocking down two en route to his game-leading 23-points. Senior forward Mateus Perkins hauled in 10 rebounds on the night.

Sitting at a 16-2 record in mid December, Miller and his Rattlers are still taking the season one day at a time. Because of injuries they have been without their full roster, particularly with Gumbs set to come back soon from injury.

“It is a little cliche, but we are literally one day at a time because we have to be day by day with all the injuries we have,” Miller said. “We have had so much adversity, so we literally say our mission is day to day, and let’s win today.”

Miller also emphasized his excitement about the potential of this team going into district play once they are back to full health.

“It is exciting knowing that one day, we will have our full team. Once we get our full team, we will be very dangerous.”

Cofer also added his own elation about the possibilities of this team once fully healthy once district play starts.

“I know when Kaden comes back we are going to flow even better, and we’ve been flowing great now,” he said. “He fits in so perfectly with our team. He is a great player to go along with other great players on this team.

“We just take every game one at a time,” Cofer added. “I feel like we can go undefeated in district, and that is our goal to be district champs. Then, take it past that in the playoffs.”

San Marcos hits the road for two road tilts against Round Rock on Monday Dec. 19 and Smithson Valley on Dec. 20 before the Christmas break.