Led by an all-around team effort, Santa Barbara High easily took control from the get-go during a dominant 79-43 victory over Channel Islands in the opening round of their own Holiday Classic boys basketball tournament on Monday evening.
Putting forth a skillful performance throughout was junior guard John Coleman, who scored 13 points while adding four rebounds and three assists. Also making his presence felt for the Dons was senior center Austin Lind, who tallied eight points to go along with six rebounds and four assists.
“We knew how they were going to come out and play, so our guys started strong and got the win tonight,” said Lind. “We had a lot of size compared to them, so our guys dominated physically while allowing us to catch fire by feeding me the ball.”
After jumping out to a quick 10-0 lead, Santa Barbara (9-5 overall) never looked back en route to grasping a 29-10 advantage over the Raiders (4-6) late in the second quarter. Following a trifecta of three-pointers from Coleman, the game already seemed over by halftime as a result of the Dons commanding 41-16 lead.
Overall, Santa Barbara out-rebounded Channel Islands 27-12. With their relentless pressing defense, the Dons were able to generate chaos for their opponents while accumulating 11 total steals.
This contest marked the second time in seven days that these two squads have squared off. On December 20th, Santa Barbara picked up a 61-33 win over Channel Islands in the Jim Bashore Cage Classic.
“It just happened to work out that we played them twice in a week,” assessed Dons head coach Dave Bregante. “They did not have the greatest ball handlers and we did a great job of forcing turnovers with our press.”
With its latest victory, Santa Barbara advances into the quarterfinals against Saugus. Tip-off will take place at 7:30 p.m. in JR Richards Gymnasium.
Additional Tournament Scores
Carpinteria 40, Firebaugh 36
The Warriors kept the lead most of the way in the first-round game.
“We were able to do just enough right things down the stretch to win the game by four points,” said head coach Henry Gonzales, whose team improved to 8-2 overall this season.
Dom Sturdivan had 13 points and Eli Correa 11 to pace Carpinteria.
“We didn’t come out with the level of intensity and execution that has become our trademark. I expect us to be a lot better tomorrow against Buena,” said Gonzales.
The Warriors advance into the quarterfinals, where they will earn a shot against the Bulldogs at 3 p.m.
Westlake 86, Bishop Diego 44
The Cardinals got an early wake-up call in the 9 a.m. game.
“I felt like we couldn’t get any momentum going because they were capitalizing on every mistake we made defensively,” Bishop head coach James Coronado said. “I also thought our shooting was off, but I think that was a byproduct of their defensive pressure. Give all the credit to them, they wanted it more than us today.”
Dylan Streett scored 14 points and Mitchell Cota added 11 for the Cardinals.
Drew Brackens led all scorers with 21 points, while Adam Hess chipped in 17 for Westlake.
Following their defeat, Bishop Diego (5-3 overall) will move over to the consolation bracket, where they will face-off with Flintridge Prep at 10:30 a.m.
Buena 60, Vallivue (ID) 58
After jumping out to an early lead, the Bulldogs were able to hold off furious comeback attempt from the Falcons on Monday evening.
Vallivue never seemed to quite get into a consistent flow in this game after traveling nearly 900 miles from their hometown of Caldwell, Idaho.
With the victory, Buena (9-2 overall) advances into a quarterfinal matchup against Carpinteria.
Curtis (WA) 77, Costa Mesa 39
With an outstanding offensive performance, the Vikings dominated Mustangs throughout at JR Richards Gymnasium.
Leading the charge throughout was Curtis senior forward John Moore, who scored a game-high 26 points. Sindou Diallo chipped in with 13 points respectively.
Despite traveling nearly 1,000 miles from their hometown in Washington, the Vikings felt right at home in the Holiday Classic.
Curtis (6-1 overall) will move into the quarterfinals, where it will face-off against Arroyo Grande at 4:30 p.m.
Arroyo Grande 63, Newbury Park 49
Jumping out to an early lead proved to be the eventual difference for the Eagles against the Panthers. Arroyo Grande (5-5 overall) will move into the quarterfinals against Curtis.
Saugus 64, Santa Fe 54
The Centurions took care of the Chiefs with relative ease on Monday afternoon. As a result, Saugus (7-2 overall) advances into the quarterfinals against tourney host Santa Barbara.
Coast Union 40, Flintridge Prep 39
In a hard fought defensive battle, the Broncos came out on top against a scrappy Rebels squad. With the victory, Coast Union (7-1 overall) moves into the quarterfinals against Westlake at 6:00 p.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.