The Santa Barbara High seniors weren’t going to let this opportunity get away from them. They had a chance to wrap up the Channel League basketball championship on the court of their crosstown rivals.
The Dons did it Wednesday night. Senior Bolden Brace led four players in double figures, and Santa Barbara held off a furious rally from San Marcos to post a 68-61 victory at a jam-packed Thunderhut.
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The result gives the top-ranked team in the CIF-SS 2A Division the outright league title. It’s the fourth straight championship for the Dons, who are 24-1 overall and 6-0 in the Channel League with two games to play.
Second-place San Marcos (16-7 and ranked eighth in 3AA) falls to 3-3 in league play.
“It’s gratifying to win the league championship at San Marcos,” Santa Barbara coach Dave Bregante said. “What better thing can you ask for… at San Marcos. It’s the first game they’ve lost all year on their floor.”
Santa Barbara used 14-2 run in the second quarter to erase a 21-16 deficit and take a 30-23 advantage at halftime. Senior Ben Clay hit a 3-pointer and Ben Brown followed with back-to-back triples to put the Dons ahead 25-23. Brown then assisted on a JM Cage layup after a terrific drive to the basket. He weaved around Royals defender before dishing off to Cage for a layup.
“It felt like a momentum changer,” Brown said of his consecutive triples. “Bo does a great job of finding the open man. It seems all my points this year have come from Bo’s passes.”
Brown, a junior, scored 15 points and showed no effects of a sprained ankle he’s been coping with for a few weeks.
“He’s only had two practices in the last three weeks. He finally got to practice on Monday and Tuesday this week,” said Bregante. “It’s amazing he’s playing as well as he is. The leg is still bothering him; he’s lost his explosiveness. But he’s got a big heart. He just loves to play the game. You better guard him. If you let him in shoot the ball, you’re in trouble.”
Brown wasn’t going to let the ankle bother him in a game for the league championship.
“I felt more concerned about my ankle the last time we played them at our home,” he said. “I got to play but my ankle hurt pretty bad. I was glad I didn’t have to worry about it so much tonight and just concentrate on beating them on their home court.”
Brace capped the second-quarter surge with a 3-pointer. The Northeastern-bound Brace led all scorers with 21 points. Seniors Nick Busch and Clay each scored 12 points and senior Cage added six points.
“He made some big baskets at big times and did well on defense,” Bregante said of the 6-6 Cage. “Hey, he stepped up and made some great contributions.”
San Marcos got big games from three seniors. Kele Mkpado turned in a solid performance and led the Royals with 18 points, Ryan McCarthy scored 16 points and Scott Everman had 15.
Busch knocked down a three and Clay buried another from the deep corner to put the Dons ahead by 12, 41-29, with 4:17 left in the third quarter. The lead swelled to 46-31 after Brace hit a 3-pointer with 2:19 to go in the third.
San Marcos caught fire and started to make a comeback. McCarthy canned a trey to end the third quarter and Thomas Hantgin opened the fourth with a three-point play. He then hit a 3-pointer and McCarthy scored five points on a triple and two free throws following a Busch dunk to pull the Royals to within one, 52-51, with 5:03 to go.
“We started getting in the middle and attacking the paint,” McCarthy said of the keys to the comeback. “It was more of an aggressive mind set in the second half.”
Showing the character of an experience team, the Dons never lost composure as the San Marcos fans started making more noise. Clay and Busch hit back-to-back threes and Brown fed Cage for a basket and scored himself for a 62-56 lead.
“The thing I like about this team is we don’t get shook up too easy,” said Bregante.
Brace made a huge defensive play for the Dons at the 1:08 mark, drawing a charge from Everman. He then assisted on a Busch basket for a 64-56 lead with 32 seconds remaining. Brown and Brace each hit two free throws to secure the victory.
It was Santa Barbara’s third win over San Marcos this season.
“Honestly, that’s the best team we’re gong to play all year,” McCarthy said. “That fact every game we were with them, they just pulled away at the end, it’s encouraging for us. We just got to forget about (the loss), come back to practice and be ready to work.”
For Bregante, he was pleased how his team responded in the hostile environment.
“I liked the way we handled them making a big run at us. We made some big plays and got it done,” he said.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
Dons Win at San Marcos, Clinch League Title from Barry Punzal on Vimeo.