Santa Barbara High boys basketball turned in a big offensive performance to take down Corona Del Mar by a score of 89-78 at home on Saturday.
Luke Zuffelato had a monster performance, dropping 34 points and pulling in nine rebounds.
The Dons fell behind 14-5 to start the game but battled back to be down just 23-19 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter was all Santa Barbara High, as they doubled up Corona Del Mar to take a 46-36 advantage into halftime.
After a solid third quarter, the Dons dropped 27 points in the fourth to fight off a Corona Del Mar comeback effort.
At the point guard position, Tobin Shyrock facilitated the offense for Santa Barbara, ending the day with 14 points and eight assists.
Del Sol 64, Providence 63
The Patriots fell in heartbreaking fashion as Del Sol nailed a game-winning buzzer beater to pull out the win.
With 1.7 seconds on the clock, Del Sol inbounded the ball and heaved up a shot as time expired and it found the bottom of the net.
“That was a fun and stressful game to be a part of,” Providence’s Dan Terry said. “Credit to Del Sol for hitting the tough, game-winning buzzer beater.
“I’m so proud of the guys for fighting the entire game and competing to the best of their ability. Each game is a step in the right direction for this team and I’m proud of the progress we’re making.”
Abro Guinto, a freshman for the Patriots, collected 15 points, four rebounds and a trio of assists in the loss.
Meanwhile, Jordan LaBrie finished with 18 points, seven boards, four assists and two steals.
Hueneme 53, Laguna Blanca 51
The Owls dropped their final matchup of the Fullcourt Clash basketball event on Saturday.
“We had several players out for Christmas vacation, yet stayed very competitive this game,” Laguna Blanca coach Phillip Sherman said. “This was a good experience for us as we were forced to adjust to an adverse situation.”
Laguna Blanca started hot, jumping out to a 16-6 lead in the first quarter. However, Hueneme flipped the switch and powered their way to a 10-point lead heading into halftime.
At the end of the third, the Owls were down 12 points.
Then, Charlie Sheldon led Laguna Blanca on a fourth-quarter run that cut the Hueneme lead down to just three points.
“Charlie Sheldon did a great job of manipulating ball picks in the fourth quarter,” Sherman said. “He found Eka Nayak for a number of pick and roll layups and when Huenemee defended the pick and roll, Charlie converted a number of mid-range shots.”
The Owls eventually cut the lead to two points and had a chance to tie or take the lead on the final possession of the game but fell just short, giving Hueneme the 53-51 win.
Royal 78, Bishop Diego 69
The Cardinals struggled late in a nine-point, non-league loss to Royal.
Bishop Diego started the game aggressively on both ends of the court, led by six three-pointers in the first quarter. At the end of the first, they led 24-18.
“Some might think that we were just on fire, but it was our ball movement,” Cardinals coach James Coronado said. “I see how our guys can shoot but to start the season, we have been forcing them.
“Tonight we took what the defense gave us and we knocked down the open looks off of great ball movement.”
Royal answered back with a solid second quarter of their own, cutting the Bishop Diego lead to seven points before halftime.
“I felt we had some bad mental plays that hurt us and gave them some momentum to go into halftime,” Coronado said.
The Royal momentum continued into the second half, where hot shooting allowed them to take a 64-64 lead with just 3:30 left in the game.
From there, Royal excelled offensively and defensively to come away with the win.
“I felt we didn’t trust what had been working, the ball started sticking too much, we took a couple ill advised shots and they capitalized on the other end,” Coronado said. But I couldn’t be more proud of our guys. Our record may not show it, but we are getting better and better.
“Our chemistry is better, our ball movement is better, and our team defense is much better. This will translate to wins down the road, if we continue to believe in each other and I am positive we will.”
The Royal comeback effort was led by Ace Arnold, who ended with a game-high 37 points.
“Our defensive plan for [Arnold] was good, I thought, but we were slow to get into it in the 1st quarter and once a guy like that gets going, it’s difficult to stop,” Coronado said.
Ryder Torres led the Cardinals with 19 points while four different players scored at least nine points.
“When we move the ball like we did tonight, we are hard to stop, I feel we have multiple guys that score,” Coronado said. “We just need to trust each other to make the right play and the right pass. That will benefit everyone in the long run.”
