Santa Barbara High boys basketball’s run at a CIF-SS title came to an end with a dramatic 59-57 loss to Bosco Tech in the Div. 3A semifinals on Friday on the road.
With the loss, the Dons end with an overall record of 24-8 and fall just short of the CIF Finals, where Bosco Tech will face off against Alemany next weekend.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Dons trailed by just two points at 41-39 after a tightly contested opening three quarters.
Two straight buckets by Santa Barbara High gave them a 44-43 lead with seven minutes to play, but that lead did not last long.
The Tigers responded with a 6-0 run to take a five-point lead at 49-44.
The Dons continued to fight and showed the fourth-quarter clutch gene that they had all season long, rattling off an 8-2 stretch to regain the advantage at 52-51 with just over three minutes left on the clock.
Bosco Tech’s Darius Benitez then came down and hit a layup to give his team the lead right back.
Santa Barbara High then got a bucket to go and Luke Zuffelato buried a three-pointer to expand his squad’s lead to 57-53 with 1:35 left in the game.
Benitez answered with a long ball of his own to make it a one-point game in the final minute of action.
From there, Bosco Tech took over. They got a bucket on the offensive end off a floater by Ryan Osborne and turned around and stopped the Dons offense, giving the Tigers the 58-57 lead with the ball and 16 seconds left.
Benitez was fouled on the inbounds and he made one of two free throws, giving the Dons the chance to tie the game or win it on the final possession.
The Bosco Tech defense stepped up when they needed to most, forcing the ball out of the hands of Zuffelato and not allowing a clean look for the Dons, which resulted in a win for the Tigers.
Zuffelato was a star all night long, leading all scorers with 34 points in the loss. Will Harman was Santa Barbara’s second-leading scorer with nine points.
Osborne was a problem for Santa Barbara High, collecting 21 points and 18 rebounds while dominating the paint. Benitez chipped in 16 points while Jaden Erami had 11.
While the finish to the semifinal matchup was a dramatic one, the first three quarters were hard-fought as well.
Bosco Tech started on the right foot, jumping out to a 17-9 lead before leading 19-12 following the first quarter thanks to 10 points and five rebounds from Osborne.
Play in the paint vaulted Bosco Tech to the early lead, as the Tigers out-rebounded the Dons 11-4 in the first.
The second quarter was a back-and-forth affair, with Santa Barbara High going on a 6-2 run to close out the half and head into halftime down 31-26.
At halftime, Osborne had already registered a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead Bosco Tech. Zuffelato also had 14 points as the Dons’ leading scorer through two quarters.
After both teams traded buckets to begin the second half, Santa Barbara High went on a quick 7-0 run to tie the game up at 35-35 with a few minutes left in the third.
Bosco Tech regained the lead shortly after and held onto their two-point lead going into the fourth quarter, where they eventually pulled out the victory.
The Dons will now turn their attention to the CIF Div. 3 state tournament, where the opening round is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 27
