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The Rattlers finally notched their first win in the Snake Pit after two one possession home games, defeating the previously undefeated Cornerstone Christian Warriors 66-56.
The Rattlers improved to 7-7 overall with senior forward Donovan Riddick leading the team in scoring with 20 followed by senior forward Josiah Hollman with 19 and senior point guard Cash Good with 18.
“We knew what we had to do,” Riddick said. “We executed exactly how our coach wanted us to do. We needed to pass and move the ball around. We took the initiative to go about the game plan and we executed.”
As San Marcos prepares for a tough district slate, getting the first win at the Snake Pit was crucial.
“With the district coming up, we want to go undefeated,” Hollman said. “So our first win at the Snake Pit is a pretty big deal.”
Though the showdown between the Rattlers and the Warriors was a non-district game, for Coach Miller it was a great preparation for what is setting up to be a tough district schedule.
“This game had the feel of a district game,” Miller said. “This is a winning team and the teams in our district have winning records. I thought our guys embraced that.”
Cornerstone started the game off hot, hitting four three pointers. But the Rattlers matched the Warriors beat for beat, including going on a 8-0 run.
Going into the second quarter, the Rattlers led 20-14.
Cornerstone took back the lead at 25-24 before the Rattlers hit back to back baskets from Peter Aguilar and Cash Good to take back the lead at 28-25.
Cornerstone briefly held the lead at 32-31 with seconds remaining before halftime but Hollman hit a buzzer beating floater to give the Rattlers the advantage up 33-32.
With the Rattlers holding the lead in their previous two home games before losing by one possession, the message at halftime was about finishing.
“A lot of the games we have been losing happened during the third quarter,” Riddick said. “Coach [Miller] emphasized coming out and putting away [Cornerstone]. Don’t let them have any hope. So we came out, executed, defended well, and we attacked the paint how we needed too.”
Hollman agreed with his teammate.
“The third quarter has been killing us all season,” Hollman said. “We had to come out with a spark and we did that today.”
San Marcos opened the third quarter on a 11-2 run to go up 44-34 lead. Cornerstone hit a three pointer to stop the bleeding only for the Rattlers to go on a 8-1 run to extend the lead 53-38.
Cornerstone hit back to back three pointers before the start of the fourth quarter with the Rattlers lead down to 53-44.
The Warriors were unable to retake the lead as San Marcos celebrated their first home win of the season, winning 66-56.
The Rattlers will be on the road at 2 p.m. Tuesday against archrival Hays in the Battle of Hays County.
