San Marcos Advances in Playoffs with Win Over Reagan

By Jordan Salas
Sports Reporter

The San Marcos Rattlers (37-3 overall, 9-1 district 27-6A) took down the San Antonio Reagan Rattlers (31-6 overall, 16-0 district 28-6A) by a score of 62-46 to win the UIL regional quarter-final.

San Marcos brought the energy to begin the game, with a fast-paced tempo that worked in their favor. San Marcos Junior guard Zyair Jolivette led his team to an early 8-1 lead by knocking down two three-pointers. Reagan found a way to answer by hitting two threes of their own, propelling them back into the game. At the end of one, the game was tied at 14.

In the second quarter, San Marcos continued to benefit from the three-point line, with Jolivette and Isaih Deleon hitting shots from beyond the arc. Led by junior guard Aidan Richard, Reagan stayed in the game and would go into the break with a manageable deficit, down 27-23.

San Marcos senior forward Malik Presley spoke on the ability of bench players to fill roles when they are needed. He gave credit to Deleon for stepping in the game when Presley took a seat due to foul trouble.

“That just shows you how deep our team is. A lot of guys on our bench can start at other programs” Presley said. “I know Isaih [Deleon] has my back. I’m going to support him just like he supports me.”

San Marcos guard Jayven Cofer began the second half with a bang when he sank a shot from downtown, giving his team early momentum. Similar to the first quarter, San Marcos started the second half on an 8-2 run. With about three minutes left in the third, senior Kaden Gumbs tossed up a beautiful lob and Presley finished the alley-oop with the hammer.

Despite San Marcos’ big plays, Reagan fought hard and kept the lead narrow. San Marcos would lead heading into the fourth quarter, 40-35

Reagan senior guard Luke Price scored seven points in the final period of play and went 5-5 from the free-throw line. Price and Richard were the only players to score in the fourth for Reagan as other players could not get shots to fall. On the other hand, San Marcos shared the ball well, having five players score in the fourth and seven in the game. Overall, it was an intense team effort that got San Marcos the 62-46 win over a talented Reagan team.

San Marcos head coach Dan Miller talked about what his team needed to do and what they did to get the win.

“Reagan is really good offensively and we had to do our best defensively,” Miller said. “I thought our guys guarded all night long. Our guys were locked in on defense and that’s what we had to do tonight. I’m really proud of them.”

San Marcos hit a total of seven three-pointers made by five different rattlers in their win. Four San Marcos players scored in double figures. Presley led with 16 points, Gumbs with 13, Cofer with 12 and Jolivette had 11. With the win, San Marcos moves on to the fourth round of playoffs and will play the Warren Warriors from San Antonio.

You can catch San Marcos face off against Warren in the regional semifinals at the Northside Sports Gym on Friday, March 3 at 5:30 p.m. Follow KTSW Sports for updates on the upcoming Rattler basketball game, as well as other San Marcos sports news.