SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Santa Barbara City College Men’s Basketball team beat El Camino comfortably in their season opener, 78-51, on Friday night at Robertson Gym.

The Vaqueros used a press defense (23 turnovers forced) and made timely three-point shots (10-for-20 overall) to pull away, building a 20-point lead before the midway point of the second half. For reference of the Vaqueros’ progress, the teams played in last year’s season opener, too, in which El Camino won 68-65.

“It’s the first game of the year—you never really know what to expect,” Head Coach Devin Engebretsen said. “But we have a lot of guys that can play. We played everybody tonight, and everybody contributed. I think the press kind of wore them out, just continuing to put fresh bodies in.”

It was also, admittedly, a poor shooting night from El Camino. The visitors made just one of their 10 three-point attempts, and less than half of their free throws (16-for-34).

The game began as a low-scoring affair. Santa Barbara held a 25-19 lead with less than five minutes left in the first half.

Shortly after, Engebretsen turned the pressure on, employing a full-court press defense—largely with substitutes on the floor such as Zacc Saleh, Saul Anaya, Langston Watson, and Phoenix White. They executed it extremely well, forcing five turnovers in the final four minutes of the half. That coincided with a 17-6 run into halftime, mostly on layups and free throws. Doing the math, it was 42-25 Vaqueros at the break.

“[El Camino] were bigger than us, but they’re also a little slower than us,” Engebretsen said. “The press and the pressure for 94 feet, over time, had a little bit of a wear-down factor.”

Despite that, a wild sequence occurred on El Camino’s first possession of the second half. Five offensive rebounds on one (albeit quick) possession frustratingly forced Engebretsen to call a timeout.

“The one thing that was really glaring—that we have to get better at—is rebounding,” Engebretsen said. “We gave up 21 offensive rebounds. So we have to tighten that up.”

But it didn’t really hurt them. El Camino only got one point out of that six-chance possession, and the closest they would ever get to the Vaqueros from there would be a 13-point deficit.

That is because Mason Thomas, Harry Davies (two), and Dylan McCord (two) all hit threes across a five-minute span. El Camino just could not catch up. Eddie Weber-Stover also had a three-point play during that time and was all over the court when he was on it, taking a charge and blocking a shot as well.

Davies’ fourth three of the night made it 75-50 with about three minutes left, putting the game completely on ice. Santa Barbara cruised to the 78-51 final score.

The Vaqueros actually shot better from three (50 percent) than they did from the field as a whole (43.3 percent). That naturally helped them keep El Camino at arm’s length despite being pretty thoroughly outrebounded (53 to 37). The turnover margin (23 to nine) was crucial, too.

The Central Washington transfer Davies led the team with 18 points, shooting seven-for-13 from the field with five rebounds, two steals, and three blocks. Engebretsen also credited his ability to control the offense as key to the win.

Reigning Western State Conference (WSC) North First Team member Jack Berry was one behind with 17 points, and was one rebound away from a double-double.

Anaya had a team-leading five assists—an impressive number considering he played just 14 minutes off the bench. Thousand Oaks grad Dylan McCord led all bench scorers with nine points (three three-pointers) and chipped in five rebounds.

The Vaqueros stay at home next Wednesday when they host Cerro Coso at 5 p.m. at Robertson Gym.