Saugus proved itself too much to handle for Santa Barbara High during a 76-61 defeat in the quarterfinals of their own Holiday Classic boys basketball tournament on Wednesday evening.
The Centurions were led throughout by a standout performance from Zach Phipps, who scored a game-high 28 points while grabbing six rebounds. During a streaking start, the senior tallied 16 points in the first quarter alone.
This win was especially memorable for the standout forward, whose mother, Shannon Frowiss, played basketball for the Dons and was a two-time All-CIF selection in the mid-1980’s. Following an outstanding career, the 6-foot-2 center was eventually elected to the SBHS Hall of Fame and will have her number retired by the school.
“I felt my groove tonight and decided to take it as we were all feeling it.” Phipps said after his team’s victory. “My mother’s jersey is going to be retired here, so I wanted this game so bad and feel very excited to win.
Making his presence felt for the Dons was Anthony Trujillo, who scored 17 points while hitting four three-pointers. Ben Brown and Morgan Peus also contributed nicely to the attack while scoring 15 points apiece.
After jumping out to an early 6-0 lead, Santa Barbara struggled to contain their opponents relentless press while turning the ball over four times. This helped Saugus get back into the game and carry a 22-17 advantage at the end of the first.
“We had trouble with the press and their pressure bothered us,” Dons head coach Dave Bregante assessed. “Our guys had too many turnovers and in order for us to do well, we needed to shoot the ball better.”
Despite hitting six total three-pointers in the first half, Santa Barbara still went into the break trailing 36-32. Immediately afterwards, the Dons sliced the deficit to just two points with seven minutes remaining in the third, the Centurions went on an 11-3 spurt to take a commanding lead that they never looked back upon.
Following their defeat, Santa Barbara (9-6 overall) moves into the tournament’s consolation bracket. The Dons tip-off against Coast Union tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 p.m. at JR Richards Gymnasium.
“We are trying to learn as we go along and get better,” Bregante concluded. “This team needs experience and this will be good for us in the long run because it prepares us for league play.”
With their emphatic victory, Saugus (8-2 overall) advances into the tourney semifinals against Westlake tonight at 7:30 p.m.
Additional Tournament Scores
Buena 73, Carpinteria 39
Falling behind early eventually proved to the difference for the Warriors during a blowout loss to the Bulldogs during the Holiday Classic quarterfinals on Wednesday evening.
Taking advantage of its superior talent level, Buena (10-2 overall) used its hot-shooting from behind the arc to build up a large halftime lead. From that point onward, the Bulldogs never looked back en route to a dominant win.
With the victory, Buena advances into the semifinals tonight against Curtis at 6:00 p.m.
On the other hand, Carpinteria (8-3 overall) shifts into the consolation bracket for a matchup against Arroyo Grande.
Flintride Prep 58, Bishop Diego 49
The Cardinals came up just short against the Rebels after a furious comeback run late in the fourth quarter in the Holiday Classic.
Andrew Ziehl led the way for Bishop, scoring all 14 of his points in the final period while hitting a trio of three-pointers. Also contributing nicely was Edgar Perez, who tallied three steals respectively.
After falling behind by 16 points in the second half, the Cardinals offense came roaring back to life during the fourth. After cutting the deficit to just four points with two minutes remaining, Flintride Prep responded with a quick run of their own to seal the win.
Bishop Diego (5-4 overall) will matchup with Channel Islands today at 10:30 a.m.
— Noozhawk sports reporter Blake DeVine can be reached at bdevine@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports and @noozhawk. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.