Strong defense helped Santa Barbara to a 64-59 Channel League win at Rio Mesa Monday night.
Luke Zuffelato scored 20 points, grabbed eight rebounds and contributed to the defensive effort.
“Luke Zuffelato’s defense, especially in the post on some of Rio’s bigger guys, was really good,” Dons coach Corey Adam said. “Rio is bigger than us and they really tried to post us up. Our guys battled with their bigger guys really well, not allowing too many post entry passes.
“Luke was helped by Jack Holdren, Will Harman, Owen Debusk and Finn Whipps defending their post guys.”
With the win, Santa Barbara rises to 9-3 in league play, staying in third place behind Oxnard and Buena and ahead of Rio Mesa and San Marcos.
Harman added 12 points and five rebounds for the Dons, and Tobin Shyrock had 10 points and five assists. Carter Battle added nine points.
After leading 33-25 at the half and led by as much as 12 points in the second half. But the Spartans persisted with defense of their own, and got to within four points with 30 seconds left.
“We did not shoot the ball well from the field and we missed 13 free throws,” Adam said. “Some of the shooting woes have to be credited to Rio’s strong half-court defense.
“All in all, proud of the boys for pulling one out on a night we did not shoot the ball well, trusting each other defensively to get stops when necessary, including Tobin Shyrock taking a charge with about two minutes left.”
The coach also praised Owen Debusk, who “continues to lead by example as a senior giving us big minutes whether he’s starting or coming off the bench, match-up dependent.”