Santa Barbara High boys basketball picked up a league victory over Buena by a score of 49-39 on Tuesday.
The Dons fell behind after the first quarter as the Bulldogs raced out to a 17-10 lead.
However, the Santa Barbara defense buckled down in the second quarter and held Buena to just four points. Much of that defensive effort can be credited to Tobin Shyrock and Waylon Finkel’s performances on Buena standout Josh Ullegue.
The second half saw the Dons continue to hold onto the lead and pull away in the fourth quarter by outscoring the Bulldogs 17-8.
DJ Wilson came up clutch down the stretch, hitting a pair of three-pointers to extend the Santa Barbara lead. Meanwhile, Luke Zuffelato turned in another impressive performance with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Thirteen of his 22 points came from the charity stripe.
In the paint, Finn Whipps put up eight points and 10 rebounds while playing solid defense.
The Dons will take on Oak Park on the road on Wednesday.
Moorpark 58, Bishop Diego 56
The Cardinals fell in heartbreaking fashion, as Moorpark nailed a buzzer beater for the victory.
“I’m so proud of our guys for the way they battled,” Bishop Diego coach James Coronado said. “We haven’t had many positive things to draw on this season, but they believed in each other. They controlled this game the whole night, we had a few defensive lapses, not because of hustle but with our rotations.
“Other than that, we controlled the game, we just couldn’t close it out. Hats off to [Moorpark] for staying in the fight.”
Bishop Diego used great team defense and aggressive offensive play to jump out to a 15-10 lead after the first quarter.
Moorpark continued to battle throughout the game, but the Cardinals held onto a six-point lead with five minutes left in regulation.
However, Moorpark’s Levi Oakes then took over and scored eight straight points to give his team the lead.
Oakes, who finished with 21 points, eventually hit the game-winner for Moorpark.
“Even with their runs, we still had them right where we wanted them, we just needed one or two plays to go our way and it didn’t,” Coronado said. “We deserved to win that game, but no one just hands you victories, you have to step on their throat and take what is yours.
“We will do that next time, I promise you. We had a minor setback the night before but we are building and heading in the right direction, I love these guys. We are figuring it out as a team.”
Dom Herrera and Eddie Perez led the Cardinals in scoring with 15 points apiece.
Rio Mesa 63, Dos Pueblos 58
The Chargers struggled in the second half and fell to Rio Mesa in a Channel League contest.
After jumping out to a 20-11 lead in the first and holding a 36-27 advantage at halftime, Dos Pueblos went cold offensively in the final two quarters.
In that second half, the Spartans outscored the Chargers 36-22 en route to the victory.
Justin Stock had a big game for Dos Pueblos with 22 points while Micah Goss poured in 17 of his own. Christian Perez also scored 10 points to round out the top-scoring trio.
Cate 51, Cabrillo 44
The Rams wrapped up play in 2023 with a solid road win over Cabrillo.
“Tonight’s basketball was beautiful to be a part of,” Cate coach Andy Gil said. “We were unselfish and shared the ball and beat their press with ease. Cabrillo had some serious athletes but our team defense was too much for them in the first half.”
Josh Butler showed out on both ends of the court, coming away with a handful of steals to get the Rams out in transition while also scoring 15 points.
Marcus Scudder once again led the offensive attack with a game-high 23 points from the point guard position.
Cate (7-1, 1-0) will return to the court on Jan. 12 against St. Bonaventure.
