A dominating second half vaulted Santa Barbara High boys basketball to a blowout 86-51 victory over Dos Pueblos on Friday inside Slovine Gym.
After a close first half where the Chargers absorbed some tough blows, the visiting Dons outscored Dos Pueblos 45-20 in the final two quarters to cruise to the win.
“Our defense is what we’re trying to build our program on,” Santa Barbara coach Greg Zuffelato said. “In the second half, I challenged them and they really came out and did what we wanted to do the whole game. We shut them down.”
The Dons got out to a hot start thanks to the sharp shooting of DJ Wilson, who nailed back-to-back three-pointers and hit a pair of free throws to get his team out to an 8-2 lead just two minutes into the game.
Wilson cooled off a bit after there but he still ended the game with 14 points, the third-highest scorer on the team.
“DJ is a great, great kid, he’s a hard worker and he’s one of our pure shooters,” Zuffelato said. “He plays football so it was a late start for him, I knew that that’s the DJ that I knew was coming and I think tonight he finally broke out.”
Unfortunately for Dos Pueblos, starting guard Christian Perez went down with a knee injury just minutes later and did not return to the game. The Chargers were already missing Micah Goss, who is out for the season.
“I’ve never had a year like this where we’re losing key players, but the guys that are coming in are doing the best that they can,” Dos Pueblos coach Joe Zamora said. “I’m proud of the way that my guys battled.”
The Dons maintained the lead for the entirety of the first half, but the solid scoring performance of Justin Stock kept the Chargers in the game, down 41-31, heading into halftime.
“Justin Stock, we did everything to stop him and he still got his points. He’s making them being held, fouled and pushed,” Zuffelato said.
However, Santa Barbara High kicked it up a notch coming out of the locker room, outscoring Dos Pueblos 27-11 in the third quarter.
Much of that offensive and defensive success can be attributed to the play of Tobin Shyrock, who was making impact plays on both ends of the floor.
“He’s our spark plug,” Zuffelato said of Shyrock. “He scored well tonight but he doesn’t have to score. The way he pushes the ball like he did tonight is what makes our team go.
“With him like he was tonight, that’s the scoring ability that we have as a team.”
Shyrock collected 15 points, seven assists, four rebounds and multiple steals on the other end of the court. After missing some time early in the season with an injury, the senior point guard seems to be back at full strength.
“This is the healthiest I’ve been in a long time,” Shyrock said. “I feel like I’m playing a lot better defense than even before when I was injured.
“My mindset has always been to get the ball up the court as quick as possible. When we have a high-paced offense, it leads to turnovers on defense and everyone starts scoring when we get fast breaks.”
Luke Zuffelato was also a key factor in the Dons’ second-half surge, scoring 13 of his game-high 24 points in the final two quarters. He also chipped in seven rebounds and three assists.
“[Luke] really worked hard this summer with Calvin Wishart, a former UCSB basketball player… Calvin is one of the best finishers I’ve ever seen,” coach Zuffelato said. “It’s really helped him getting to the basket and finishing, so that’s a change to his game with his size.
“Playing against him, it’s hard to match up because if you put a guard on him, he’s stronger and bigger than him and if you put a big on him then he’ll go around him.”
While the Chargers struggled down the stretch and Santa Barbara eventually pulled out the win, Stock continued his strong scoring night and ended with 14 points and four rebounds to lead his team.
“[Stock’s] a gritty scorer, he really wants the ball in his hands,” Zamora said. “He has the ability to get to the basket, he’s not just about three-point shooting. He’s a coach’s son that really understands the game.
“He does a really good job, he makes us better and he has since he was a freshman.”
The Dons are now 3-0 in Channel League play, tied for first place with Ventura. They will compete in the Santa Barbara Holiday Classic beginning on Wednesday.
“3-0 in league is a big deal for us, we want to win a league championship this year,” Shyrock said.
Dos Pueblos, now 0-3 in league action, will also play in the Holiday Classic on Wednesday.