Overview:
Tobin Shyrock's hustle play on defense preserves win for Santa Barbara
Luke Zuffelato scored 11 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter to help Santa Barbara High School hang on for an 80-77 victory over Holy Martyrs in Tuesday’s opening round of its own Holiday Classic Boys Basketball Tournament.
“Luke had another stellar game, scoring 34, but just as importantly slowing down their primary ball handler in the last four minutes,” Dons coach Corey Adam said. “He’d really caused us problems.”
Zuffelato, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, made two of his four three-pointers during the final period, and also converted a three-point play. Tobin Shyrock added 12 points and helped preserve the victory with a last-minute hustle play.
Holy Martyrs trailed by just one point and had the ball with 12 seconds remaining. Shyrock dove on the floor to regain possession for the Dons while calling a timeout. Carter Battle cashed in the play with a pair of free throws.
Santa Barbara (6-8) exploded for 25 points in the second quarter, turning a 20-17 deficit into a 42-34 halftime lead. Zuffelato scored 11 points in the period while Jack Holdren added six.
Holy Martyrs rallied by making seven of its 12 three-pointers in the second half.
“Credit to them, they shot the ball really well,” Adam said.
The Dons will play again tonight at 6:30 p.m. against Valley View, which defeated Sierra Pacific 68-64 on Tuesday.
Dos Pueblos 74, Righetti 68
Joe Talarico scored 30 points to lead the Chargers past the Warriors in the opening round of the Santa Barbara Holiday Classic.
Terry Butler led Righetti (6-3) with 26 points.
“Joe Talarico and Butler really went at it tonight on the offensive end,” DP coach Joe Zamora said. “Joe hit two late shot-clock threes from deep and had some great looks.
“He really stepped it up — one of the best performances by any of my players I’ve had as a head coach at DP. He is just such a great competitor.”
Justin Stock added 19 points for DP (5-6) while Daniel Mauldin chipped in with 10.
“Righetti did a good job rebounding and made it hard for us to get offensive boards,” Zamora said. “We were able to use our changing defenses in the second half which allowed us to create some distance.
“Daniel Mauldin was very aggressive tonight and he did a great job stepping in for Grant Hughes who sat out with food poisoning.”
The Chargers will return to tournament action tonight at 5 p.m. against Stockdale, which defeated San Marino in its first-round game. In other tournament contests on Tuesday, Alemany defeated Moorpark, 51-50, while Peninsula beat Pilibos, 56-54, on a buzzer beater.
Today’s preliminary games will pit Moorpark against Pilibos at 11 a.m., Sierra Pacific against Holy Martyrs at 12:30 p.m., Righetti against San Marino at 2 p.m., and Alemany against Peninsula at 3:30 p.m.