The crosstown rivalry game against San Marcos brought the fight out of the Santa Barbara High boys’ basketball team.
The Dons pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 59-50 victory to remain unbeaten in Channel League play and solidified themselves as contenders after mixed results in their early-season non-league slate.
“At the beginning of the year, we get together and pick one word to describe our season, and this year it was relentless,” said Santa Barbara High coach Greg Zuffelato. “I felt like for the first time this year, we lived that out.”
San Marcos entered the game with a 7-1 overall record and was ranked No. 23 in the state of California according to MaxPreps after a string of impressive victories. However, the intensity of the rivalry seemed to leave the Royals unsettled in the opening minutes as they dug themselves into a significant hole.
A layup in transition by Blake Lee gave the Dons a 14-3 lead with 1:55 remaining in the first quarter, and San Marcos spent the rest of the game battling uphill.
A steal and layup by Aidan Conlan, followed by a Conlan floater in traffic, capped off a 14-4 San Marcos run that cut the Santa Barbara lead to 18-17 midway through the second quarter.
However, Santa Barbara closed the first half with a 6-2 run to take a 24-19 lead into halftime.
The third quarter was a defensive slugfest. Santa Barbara increased its lead to 28-20 on two free throws by Owen Horn, but San Marcos kept coming as a full-court drive and layup by Brody Green tied the score at 31-31 with 30 seconds remaining in the quarter.
A basket inside by Brent Sharpton with 15 seconds remaining in the third quarter gave San Marcos a 33-31 lead and previewed what was to come, as the Dons exploited their size advantage late in the game.
“We knew we had the advantage inside. We have so much height and length, so we tried to figure out who the smallest guy was and post that guy up,” Zuffelato said. “Then we played inside out, and the guys executed.”
Santa Barbara outscored San Marcos 26-19 at the free-throw line, led by the calm hand of junior guard Levi Oakes. The Moorpark transfer finished with a game-high 20 points and made five of six free throws in the fourth quarter.
“It was definitely new to me — great fans on both sides. This is what I live for, so it was fun,” Oakes said of the rivalry. “We go hard every day. We practice for two or two and a half hours so that we’re ready to play for a full 32 minutes, and it showed today.”
A pull-up jumper by Oakes with four minutes remaining increased the Santa Barbara lead to 41-35. After a tip-in by Koji Hefner cut the lead to 42-37, Lee answered with a three-pointer that put Santa Barbara ahead 45-37 with just over three minutes remaining.
A driving layup by Conlan brought the Royals within 45-41 at the 2:10 mark of the fourth quarter, but that was as close as San Marcos would come the rest of the way.
The Dons salted the game away at the free-throw line and overcame a last-gasp four-point play by Hefner to secure the win. Hefner finished with 19 points to lead San Marcos despite an off shooting night. The Royals shot 10 for 22 from the free-throw line overall.
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