Santa Barbara High boys basketball carried its winning ways into the new year, taking down crosstown rival Dos Pueblos by a score of 87-59 on Monday inside J.R. Richards Gym.
The Dons (10-7, 4-0 Channel League) remained atop the league standings with the win, while the Chargers (10-6, 1-3) lost their second straight game while missing standout senior Wyatt Gardiner, who is injured.
“Wyatt is such an important part (for DP),” Santa Barbara High head coach Greg Zuffelato said. “I thought they did a fantastic job filling in those gaps. It’ll be a much different game [at DP] because Wyatt makes them a lot more dynamic and harder to guard.
“[Gardiner being out] narrowed our focus, because we knew who we wanted to focus on (defensively).”
Despite back-to-back league losses, Dos Pueblos head coach Joe Zamora is confident in his team’s ability to improve down the stretch.
“The Channel League is a beast, it’s a battle. Every game is a slugfest so we just have to get ready for the next one,” Zamora said. “We’re 1-3 in league and there’s nothing that says we can’t turn it around. Once Wyatt’s back that will definitely help with the confidence of our team.”
The Dons showcased their physicality right out of the gates, getting three quick buckets inside before a booming dunk by Blake Lee gave his squad a quick 8-0 advantage in the first quarter.
Lee made several big plays on both ends of the floor for Santa Barbara and ended the night with 15 points, including a pair of big dunks.
“[Lee] just gets better and better as the year goes on. His defensive intensity, his athleticism, his rebounding,” Zuffelato said of the sophomore.
“He always guards the best player… He’s had some great opportunities the last few weeks playing Crespi and Redondo (Union), guarding some of the best in Southern California. It’s really giving him confidence to be able to guard anybody.”
The dominance on both ends continued for most of the first, as the lead reached 20-5 with 2:24 on the clock. However, the Chargers woke up during that time and finished the quarter on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit down to 20-13.
In that run, Coulter Jay and Iyad Ahmad-Reda both scored four points as Dos Pueblos began to assert itself in the paint.
While the Chargers held the momentum out of the first, the Dons got it all back early in the second with a 5-0 burst that included two technical free throws by Levi Oakes to make it 25-13.
Oakes continued to facilitate a strong offensive attack as Santa Barbara grew its lead to 37-20 in the final minutes of the half. Dos Pueblos didn’t go into the break quietly, as an Evan Pinsker jump shot was followed by a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Logan Pearce to make it a 40-27 game at halftime.
Jay single handedly kept the Chargers in the game throughout the first half. He poured in all 17 of his points in the opening half, knocking down three three-pointers and working in the paint.
“We need [Jay] to step up,” Zamora said. “He’s a four-year player for me, he’s a smart kid. He works hard, never complains. He’s not as heavy as other post players, so he gets knocked around a lot, but he always gets right back up.”
The Dons came out of the locker room with a newfound energy and focus on the defensive end, holding the Chargers to just eight points in the third quarter while generating several turnovers.
Many of those turnovers led to points on the other end, as 10 third-quarter points by Owen Horn led the charge and allowed Santa Barbara to balloon its lead to 67-35 heading into the fourth.
“We challenged them at halftime,” Zuffelato said. “We’ve been playing very, very well, and in the first half we didn’t demonstrate the way we’ve been playing.
“No matter what the score is, we don’t want to be getting beat on loose balls and often getting up offensively. So we kind of challenged them with that, and they stopped giving up offensive rebounds. We just got out and ran, and then we started to play the way we play.”
Horn led all scorers with 21 points for the Dons, including five three-pointers.
“[Horn] has really matured,” Zuffelato said. “Tonight he got a lot of threes, but the whole year, he’s been scoring different levels. He’s really well rounded and is playing great defense.”
Both teams emptied their benches in the fourth quarter, allowing younger players to see time in a rivalry battle. Nate Meister made the most of his time for the Dons, scoring 11 points in the quarter to help his team cruise to the 87-59 win.
“My kids don’t quit, and I was happy that my other guys who don’t normally get in got an opportunity to play in an environment like this. It’s going to help us down the road,” Zamora said.
“We always want to try and steal one on the road. We didn’t get it, now we have to have a short-term memory, get ready for San Marcos on Wednesday, because the scheduler didn’t do us any favors.”
Dos Pueblos will roll out the welcome mats for the Royals on Wednesday at 7 p.m. inside Sovine Gym. Meanwhile, the Dons will play host to Oxnard on Wednesday at 7 p.m.