A 13-2 third-quarter run propelled the Santa Barbara boys basketball team past Dos Pueblos on Saturday, as the Dons knocked off the Chargers for the second consecutive game 62-50.
Saturday’s win marked Santa Barbara’s third straight league victory. The Dons now sit at 3-1 in Channel League play. Dos Pueblos dropped to 1-3 in the league.
In a far sharper offensive display than Thursday’s matchup, senior guard Jasper Johnson led the Dons with 16 points, while sophomore guard Devin Stone scored 13 crucial bench points.
For the Chargers, junior Kael Rillie led the way once again with 20 points. In total, Rillie, junior guard Joaquin Riker, and junior guard Krue Court combined to score 47 of the team’s 50 points on the night.
Much like Thursday’s game, it wasn’t until the third quarter that Santa Barbara could break away from a gritty Dos Pueblos squad. Rillie largely willed the Chargers in the first half, especially in the first quarter. With the shot clock winding down and 40 seconds left in the first quarter, Rillie banked in a step-back three-pointer to give him 11 points in the quarter and put the Chargers up eight.
Santa Barbara played a far better second quarter and led by four at the half.
“Quite honestly (coach Joe Zamora) outcoached me tonight,” said Dons coach Corey Adam. “I think we took them a bit lightly, and that’s on me for letting that happen.”
Nonetheless, the Dons were able to turn it on in the third quarter. At the beginning of the half, Dos Pueblos co-captain Alex Perez was forced to leave the game with a sprained ankle. Soon afterward, Santa Barbara went on a 13-2 run to open up a 44-32 lead.
“Losing (Perez) really hurt us,” said Dos Pueblos coach Joe Zamora. “He’s my co-captain, and it’s tough any time one of your leaders goes down.”
Senior Erik Strandburg led the charge for Santa Barbara in the quarter, with the forward scoring 8 of his 12 points on the night, including an impressive three-point play that gave the Dons a 12-point lead.
Stone also hit a massive three in the quarter. Adam praised the guard for his performance in just his fourth varsity game.
“He kills us in practice, we’ve just been waiting for it to carry over,” said the coach. “Hopefully, this is his breakout game.”
Dos Pueblos kept the game within reach until the last few minutes of the fourth quarter, thanks to an impressive second-half performance from Riker, who scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half.
“I challenged him at halftime to be more of a scorer and a leader and want the ball in his hands,” said Zamora. “I’m extremely proud of the way he played, and we’re going to need that from him.”
Despite the loss, Zamora expressed his appreciation for the team’s performance on the road against a tough opponent.
“I was proud of the way my guys competed tonight,” he said. “I thought they competed better than they did two days ago.”
Adam emphasized that his team needs to improve.
“We were a little fundamentally unsound tonight,” he said. “We’ll be better.”
