The Mariners run of six games in nine days is finally at a close, but not without great success for the squad. A week after taking the title at the Foothill College Tournament, Marin competed with some perennial title contenders and comported themselves well. After dispatching Modesto College in the opening round, a tightly contest affair was won by Cosumnes River in the Tournament Semifinal. Marin still garnered hardware, as they bounced back to beat Sacramento City College in the 3rd place game 91-90.
Marin opened against the host squad from Modesto. From the get go it was sure to be a dogfight as Modesto opted to rain three pointers all evening. They made 13 on the night, but Marin kept their composure hitting seven of eight three throws in the final 69 seconds of the game to hold on for the 90-88 win. Trevelin Queen had 25 points for Marin with Nylek Cobb not far behind with 21. JT Robinson chipped in 16 points while Derek Morgan had a double double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
The win propelled Marin to the primetime Friday matchup against Cosumnes River College in the tournament semifinal. CRC's smothering defense did an excellent job and bottling up the dynamic offense of the Mariners as they were held to just 26 first half points and a five point halftime deficit. While the scoring opened up a bit in the second half, Marin was unable to overcome Cosumnes River at fell 77-68. Queen once again led Marin, but he required 25 shots to score 21 points, Cobb was the only other Mariner in double digits with 12.
On Saturday, the Mariners faced Sacramento City College in the third place game. The tightly contested affair was 42-38 at the half in favor of Sacramento City. They pushed their advantage to 10 points with just 2:25 remaining in the game, but Marin would not be vanquished as they overcame the deficit to take the lead with just a minute left. They managed to hold the lead, to pull out the astonishing one point win 91-90. Queen had 27 points, six rebounds and six steals while Cobb had an other worldly showing as he tallied 21 points, four rebounds, five assists, five steals and eight blocks.
Queen received all conference honors for his efforts in the tournament, averaging 25.3 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3 steals per game.
Head Coach Scott Thom was supremely proud of his team's ability to fight in the final game despite the grueling recent schedule. "Playing six games in nine days definitely took a toll on the guys' bodies, but we battled back down 10 with a minute left to take the lead and hold on for the win. We need to get our bodies right these next couple days and clean up somethings offensively and defensively to prepare for the start of conference play."
The Mariners begin conference play with Merritt College at home on Friday, December 23rd.