DeLeon hits buzzer-beater for district-opening win

Josh DeLeon is clutch.

A game-high 22 points from the senior guard pushed the Rattlers passed San Antonio East Central (14-8, 0-1 district), 78-76, in the final seconds of Friday night’s district-opener. With 13 seconds left on the clock, DeLeon drove 94 feet, twisting his defender’s stance all the way down the floor until he was finally able to step through two players in black and gold in the paint. As the whistle blew the crowd erupted when the senior dropped the tough and-one layup. The go-ahead bucket put the Rattlers up and one more shot attempt from the Hornets at the buzzer was no good, rewarding the purple and white the first win of the new year.

@joshdeleon02 with the dagger for San Marcos. Here’s how the play went down. @RattlerDefense pulls off the win behind this bucket!! @smdrsports pic.twitter.com/k5ajalrRlA

— DeShaun Hartley (@DeShaunHartley) January 4, 2020

The guard broke down the final play as it happened on the floor for San Marcos (13-8, 1-0).

“I knew we had 13 seconds left and we were gonna try to run a play where we get a long pass. But they were covering it,” DeLeon said. “I knew I was going to have to bring it up the court and when I saw I was a step quicker than the guy guarding me, then I knew I could take it to the rack and we were gonna have help side open. So either I would have to hit somebody or take it myself and I just got lucky and was able to get the bucket myself.”

East Central lit it up from beyond the arc, going 3-3 on perimeter attempts to open the game. Freshman guard Kaden Gumbs threw a pearl of a bounce pass between the defense to freshman forward Malik Presley, diving to the rim on his sixth point of the night. Presley wasn’t finished scoring in the first quarter. A ballerina-like spin move left his defender out of the picture frame when the forward finished the uncontested layup. It was a tough, fast-paced first quarter but the visitors were able to keep a 22-18 advantage when the buzzer sounded. 

DeLeon gave the Hornets a taste of their own medicine by swishing his first deep-range attempt, which cut the lead to one. Pinchback instills confidence in his players if he believes they have a matchup advantage.

“I just believe in my kids, man. This game — to me, I’m like a football guy, I’m looking for matchups,” head coach Steven Pinchback said. “I said it before ‘If your guy can’t match up with my guy, we're gonna make you work.’ It’s not our job to stop our guy, so when we find a matchup we like, we’re pretty tough.”

The belief in his players allowed senior guard C.J. Valencia to take his man one-on-one with a swift behind-the-back move as he finished through contact and added an and-one to his highlights. The bucket put the purple and white ahead for the first time in the game, 27-25. San Marcos ran into the tunnel with a 35-31 lead.

Valencia displayed his versatility by hitting back-to-back 3s early in the third quarter, spreading the floor like peanut butter. Gumbs added a little jelly to the sandwich when he operated on one of the strong suits to his game crossing his man and getting the layup to fall with 14.9 seconds.

Down one point, DeLeon grabbed the ball off the rim, took a few dribbles to get past his man and chucked it from just beyond half-court. Fans watched the ball float in the air in slow-motion and when the shot dropped it gave the Rattlers momentum and a 58-56 lead at the buzzer.

It was a tug-of-war for dominance as the lead changed six times throughout the fourth. Gumbs swatted his man’s mid-range look to put his team up 75-71 with less 47 seconds left.

The Hornets stung back with a 5-0 run on costly turnovers by the hosts. A free throw put them ahead 76-75 with 13.7 seconds left. The Rattler’s primary option on the inbound was shutdown so DeLeon took it upon himself to close out the 78-76 win in the district-opener.

DeLeon led the team with 25 points, followed by Gumbs with 17, Presley with 16 and Valencia with 13.

The motto for this team has been going 1-0 every game. The Rattlers have a chance to go 1-0 again this Tuesday when they take on Converse Judson (13-9, 1-0) in Converse at 7 p.m. It will be a challenge but San Marcos is prepared for anything. 

“We’ve scouted every opponent. I can’t say if every head coach has seen us play but we’re gonna do our job. I’ve seen Judson two or three times. They’re a tough opponent but we gotta do what we do,” Pinchback said. “It’s not about who you play, it’s about the Rattlers doing what they do best and not getting caught up in that. We respect our opponents but we don’t fear anybody. I believe in my kids and they believe in me so were ready for that.”