Santa Barbara High boys basketball punched their ticket to the Nike Tournament of Champions title game with a 73-47 win over Cesar Chavez High on Friday in Arizona.
The Dons will now face off against either Canyon High of Anaheim or Davis High of Utah on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the Grand Canyon Division championship.
It was a tight matchup early, as Santa Barbara High escaped the first quarter with a 20-14 lead. The Dons’ offense continued to find success in the second quarter and built a 40-30 advantage at halftime.
Santa Barbara High then exerted its dominance in the third quarter, holding Cesar Chavez to just four points to expand the lead out to 20. From there, the Dons cruised to the lopsided win.
Luke Zuffelato led the team with 27 points, including six three-pointers. Meanwhile, Carter Battle and Brent Sharpton had strong games on both ends of the court with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
Girls Basketball
San Marcos girls basketball dropped a non-league matchup with Cabrillo by a score of 41-36 on Friday inside the Thunderhut.
“We knew today was going to be a battle, especially with it being our first game in almost two weeks,” Royals coach Devin Uyesaka said. “We’re trying to get back into the swing of things after a little break.”
The Royals came out of the gates with 12 points in the first but struggled for the rest of the game, managing just 24 points across the final three quarters.
San Marcos will resume Channel League play by hosting Ventura on Tuesday at 7 p.m.