Santa Barbara High boys basketball built a first-quarter lead and never surrendered it en route to a 72-60 victory over Mission Bay in the CIF Div. 1 State Tournament opener on Tuesday inside J.R. Richards Gym.
Senior Luke Zuffelato poured in a game-high 27 points and the Dons dominated the painted area from start to finish to clinch the program’s first State Tournament win since 2019.
“What you worry about with these long gaps is losing the edge,” Santa Barbara head coach Greg Zuffelato said of the week-long break since their CIF-SS Semifinal loss to Mira Costa. “They really didn’t lose their edge, the practices were intense, they all bought in, they worked so hard last week.
“You can tell by how hard they worked how badly they wanted this.”
The victory sets up a second-round matchup against top-seeded Sierra Canyon on Thursday night in Chatsworth. The Dons defeated the Trailblazers in dramatic fashion in the SB Holiday Classic in December.
“We gotta go down to Sierra Canyon and show them we can do it there and here,” Greg Zuffelato said. “We’re going to battle… they’re going to be really ready for us this time. We’re not going to surprise them so it will be a great game.”
The two sides opened the game exchanging buckets, with Santa Barbara taking a 10-9 lead at the 3:24 mark on a Diesel Lowe layup.
That bucket sparked a quick run for the Dons as DJ Wilson knocked down a three-pointer and Owen Horn converted a second-chance layup to extend the lead to 15-9 with 1:33 to go.
Mission Bay snapped the mini run with a jumper by Caleb Newton, but Horn hit another layup on the fast break off an assist from Carter Battle to take a 17-11 lead into the second.
The Santa Barbara High defense shined in the opening quarter, providing plenty of on-ball pressure while also preventing any easy looks inside the painted area.
“Every single player, we have 19 now on varsity, has bought into how important defense is,” Greg Zuffelato said. “They just bought in, and they love it… That team defense and attitude switched in the second Oxnard game and it stayed, it’s changed our season.”
The second quarter was full of back-and-forth play as the Dons held onto a comfortable lead but Mission Bay never let it grow past 12 points.
At the end of the first half, Santa Barbara’s lead stood at 36-27 thanks in part to its ability to break the full-court press of the Buccaneers throughout the second.
“We’ve seen the trap all year, for Mira Costa we prepared for it for a week,” Greg Zuffelato said. “It was a different type of press, Mira Costa is longer and bigger and [Mission Bay] are a little more athletic and not as organized.
“We didn’t have trouble with it and it didn’t get us out of rhythm at half court, which is good.”
After an uncharacteristic five-point first half, Luke Zuffelato caught fire in the third quarter to help the Dons maintain control of the game. The UCSB commit tallied 11 points in the quarter, seven of which came on second-chance opportunities.
Santa Barbara High was active on the boards all night, led by eight total rebounds by Luke Zuffelato.
“On our board we have keys to the game and the number one key was win the war in the paint,” Greg Zuffelato said. “Of all the games this year, that was the best game of winning the war in the paint.
“[Mission Bay] is big, they rebound well, they’re athletic and we did a heck of a job… Our offensive rebounds were amazing.”
By the end of the third quarter, the Dons’ lead stood at 57-47 thanks to strong rebounding and an emphatic dunk by Battle to get the crowd jumping.
Santa Barbara came out of the gates firing in the fourth quarter as Luke Zuffelato stayed hot to help his squad build up a 70-50 lead with 4:12 remaining.
Mission Bay didn’t go away quietly, ripping off a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to 70-60 with 1:20 remaining. However, it was too little, too late and the Dons held on for the victory.
While Luke Zuffelato led the scoring attack, Battle and Cayleb Miller finished in double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Both Wilson and Horn ended with eight points.