Santa Barbara High boys basketball kicked off the annual Santa Barbara Holiday Classic with an 85-61 win over Whitney of Rocklin on Friday inside J.R. Richards Gym.
“I was so proud of how we responded to our loss on Tuesday against Crespi,” Santa Barbara High head coach Greg Zuffelato said. “I told them the response to the loss is more important than the loss itself.
“We could have hung our heads and let it affect us, but instead we came out and played our best game of the year. We’re a very young team, but we’re growing up really fast.”
The first half was a close battle, as the Dons escaped the opening quarter with a 22-17 lead. They continued to hold the slight advantage and went into halftime leading 40-33.
After a back-and-forth start to the third, Santa Barbara began to pull away in the third quarter and put the finishing touches on the win by outscoring Whitner 26-14 in the fourth quarter.
Owen Horn took over for the Dons down the stretch, pouring in 18 of his career-high 29 points in the victory. He knocked down four three-pointers in the first two minutes of the fourth to help his team put the game out of reach.
Levi Oakes followed with 17 points while facilitating the offensive attack, and Blake Lee contributed on both ends of the court with strong defense and 11 points.
Santa Barbara High will host Dougherty Valley on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. as the tournament continues.
Lowell 51, Dos Pueblos 49 (OT)
The Chargers’ comeback effort fell short in an overtime loss to Lowell in their SB Holiday Classic opener on Friday inside Sovine Gym.
Dos Pueblos fell behind 12-2 after the first quarter and slowly chipped away throughout regulation before a three-pointer late in the fourth sent the game into overtime.
However, the Chargers managed just three points in overtime to suffer the loss.
Wyatt Gardiner led Dos Pueblos with 22 points, while Logan Pearce ended the night with 11 points.
The Chargers will play host to Holy Martyrs on Saturday at 6 p.m.
No information was provided by San Marcos basketball.