LIVING THE DREAM

Rattlers beat Reagan, win Regional Quarterfinals

The dream season is continuing for the San Marcos Rattlers as they advance to the regional semifinals Friday, March 3, against San Antonio Warren from the Northside Gym.

The Rattlers (37-3) behind a soldout crowd at Canyon High School in New Braunfels, knocked off the San Antonio powerhouse Reagan Rattlers Tuesday, 62-46. They were led by a balanced offensive attack with four starters hitting double figures. Senior Malik Presley led San Marcos with 16-points, senior Kaden Gumbs’ 13-points, senior Jayven Cofer’s 12-points, and junior Zyair Jolivette chipped in 11-points.

“Every game is different and today we hit some shots early, but it was our defense that we really set the tone early,” San Marcos Head Coach Dan Miller said. “We wanted to get off to a good start playing- wise. Sometimes you can get off to a good start playing-wise, but it doesn’t reflect on the scoreboard. It is just a matter of staying in the moment and battling every possession.”

San Marcos jumped out to a quick start winning the tip. Presley took the ball from Gumbs on the right wing for a mid-range opening bucket. Then, behind two 3-pointers from Jolivette, San Marcos forced an early timeout when they were up 8-3 over Reagan.

“It felt good once the first shot went in with my first playoff bucket, and it meant a lot to me,” Jolivette said. “We saw on film that Reagan left a lot of gaps open, so I knew I would be able to find my shot tonight.”

After the timeout, Reagan battled back behind senior Luke Mills and junior Aidan Richard who had a game-high 17-points as they fought for tough points in the paint against the tough Rattler man-toman defense bringing the score even at 14 apiece after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, with Presley forced to the bench with three fouls, senior forward Isaiah Deleon came in off the bench and provided a spark, scoring 5-points. San Marcos continued to pressure Reagan with their defense making it difficult for Reagan to generate any real offense.

“That just shows you how deep our bench really is; a lot of these guys could start at other programs,” Presley said, referring to Deleon’s spark off the bench in the first half. “Isaiah is a great player and just for him to be able to come in and fill that role while I was in foul trouble, but I know Isaiah always has my back and he supports me. He showed out.”

San Marcos took their first lead into the halftime break in three games as they led Reagan 27-23 at the break. Just as in the first half, the Rattlers got out to a quick start extending their halftime lead to 34-25 with Presley, Cofer, and Gumbs leading the way in the second half.

“Honestly, that is just how we practice, we have great athletes on the team,” Presley said. “Coach Miller does an amazing job utilizing us. Defense is a want thing. We just all wanted to play defense and it showed.”

After the hot Rattler start, Reagan was able to go on a mini 5-0 run with the shooting from senior point guard Luke Price, who scored 10 of his 15-points in the third quarter keeping Reagan within arm's distance of San Marcos.

San Marcos was able to quiet the Reagan run after the timeout as Gumbs brought the ball up the court to run an offensive set as he lobbed the ball to the left side of the rim finding his senior running mate Presley for the alley- oop flush.

Reagan would still not go away as Price was able to hit another long range bomb and connect on two free throws to end the third quarter with a score of 40-35 in favor of the Rattlers.

After three closely contested quarters, Presley and Gumbs and the rest of the Rattlers were able to pull away from Reagan to start the final quarter as they went on an 11-2 run to begin the fourth.

“Finish that's all it was, everyone was on the same page with the eyes on the prize,” Presley said of the coach’s message going into the fourth quarter with a 5-point lead. The Rattlers did just that as they out scored Reagan 22-12 in the final eight minutes as they continued to just pick up the defense with their hard-nosed, tough defense to really make things difficult on offense for Reagan.

Jolivette continued to show his emergence in this game on both ends of the floor along with sophomore Cash Good, who both came up with big steals and turnovers on the defensive end in the fourth quarter.

“When Coach (Miller) gives me an assignment, I just tell myself I am not going to let my opponent score the ball,” Jolivette said.

Miller continued to praise his two underclassmen with their on-ball defense.

“Zy and Cash are such good defenders for us, and when those guys are hitting their shots along with Abel (Trevino) it elevates our team to an even higher level,” Miller said. “We always believe in those guys. It was good to see the ball go through the net early for him.”

The Ratters will travel into San Antonio for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off Friday with the full support of the San Marcos community behind them.

“It was just amazing having our community behind our back,” Presley said of tonight’s sold out crowd. “We know everywhere we go we are going to fill up those stands every time.

Just being a part of this and doing this for the community right now and being a main player on the team, it feels amazing. It is more than just a game.”