The Mariners had a chance to tie in the final seconds of their season opener but some shots are not meant to be. Jalen Chandler's long-distance triple rimmed out as the horn sounded in San Bruno on Saturday. The Mariners opened their year at Skyline College and had a chance to win but could not gut it out. Chandler's game ending miss was possibly the only blemish on his 20-point, 13 rebound performance.
The was an outright dog fight over the final few minutes. The Mariners and Trojans exchanged the lead a half dozen times. Tyler Sims lit it up in the second half with 13 points including a layup with 40 seconds remaining to bring Marin within three at 67-64.
Skyline missed a three pointer but grabbed the rebound and Marin fouled. The Trojans missed the front end of the 1 and 1 and the Mariners drove the length of the floor for an uncontested layup to bring the score to 67-66 with five seconds remaining. The Mariners had to foul and after a pair of made free throws, Chandler's last second attempt went off iron.
Marin started out on the wrong foot as Sophomore center Ethan Battistini picked up two quick fouls and moved to the bench for the remainder of the first half. The Mariners played small as a result and trailed by double digits at the end of the first half 38-26. Chandler kept Marin afloat with 10 first half points.
Despite the loss there were a number of positive signs for the Mariners. The sophomore Chandler had a career high 20 points on 7-14 shooting. He added a career best 13 boards and a pair of blocks as well. Alfonso Murrie filled up the stat sheet with 12 points, eight boards, five assists a steal and a block while Tyler Sims poured in 13 points in his first collegiate game.
The Mariners host College of the Redwoods for their home opener on Wednesday, November 6th. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30pm in Kentfield.