Talk about ups and downs.Santa Barbara's boys basketball team allowed 22 points in the first quarter and zero in the second, eventually defeating Arleta 59-49 in the Pacifica Tournament."It was just a very unfocused start," said assistant coach Jim Slavin. "We had a real attitude adjustment in the fourth quarter." … [Read more...]

Robert Vickers had a sequence in the final 20 seconds of Dos Pueblos' 56-49 boys basketball victory over Righetti that would make even grumpy ol' Bobby Knight jump for joy. The Cal State Northridge-bound shortstop came up short on a big free throw at 52-49 with 20 ticks left that would have made it a two-possession game, but he sprinted to the sideline to grab the long rebound.He then drove in for a lay-up, stole the ensuing inbounds pass, made another lay-up and drew the foul to get … [Read more...]

The Cate boys varsity basketball team had a disappointing league opener against Besant Hill (5-1), as the Rams (1-3) were held scoireless in the first quarter and went on to lose 51-31.Cate ended the first half down by a score of 11 to 24.  Mark Mullan (4 points), Houston Bradley (3), and Vladimir Vilsaint (2) supplied the majority of our offensive production in the first half.   … [Read more...]

Bishop Diego couldn't overcome a 19-point deficit in the third quarter and suffered a 61-49 basketball defeat at Oak Park on Monday night.Despite missing nine wide-open layups in the first half, the young Cardinals trailed by only five points (25-20) at halftime. … [Read more...]

A furious Dos Pueblos fourth-quarter rally fell short as the Chargers lost to Oxnard 65-60 in a non-league basketball game Monday night at Oxnard.After falling behind by 20 points in the third quarter, the Chargers picked up their game and cut Oxnard's lead to four points, but they couldn't get any closer. … [Read more...]

Luther Tarver-Burks had a career night in leading the Laguna Blanca basketball team to a 67-42 non-league win over Coastal Christian on Monday night. Burks poured in a career-high 33 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, had two steals and a blocked shot in dominating performance. … [Read more...]

Nick Marquez and Bryant Koopmans were selected to the all-tournament team at the Coast Union Tournament on Saturday as the Royals defeated Templeton 42-39 for the Bracket A Championship. Marquez scored 69 points in four games to lead the Royals and was the leading scorer (on either team) in all four games. He had two of San Marcos' six treys against Templeton.Earlier in the day, the Royals crushed Pioneer Valley 42-26 in the semifinals. … [Read more...]

The Santa Barbara boys basketball team went to battle in the championship game of the Moorpark Tournament on Saturday and, as has been the case for much of the season, didn't have some of its top weapons in a 64-47 loss to Granada Hills.Bigs Chris Pratt and Taylor Fauntleroy were elsewhere for volleyball commitments and assistant coach John Slavin said Granada used their size to an advantage all night long. … [Read more...]

Robert Vickers had a season-high 22 points and a crucial steal that he took the length of the floor and completed a 3-point play to help clinch Dos Pueblos' 68-59 victory over Coueur d'Alene, a state-runner up from Idaho.Coueur d'Alene, who plays Mira Costa and El Segundo on a three-game trip, can shoot the long ball and hit nine in the game, but Dos Pueblos shifted to a 3-2 zone in the second half, eliminating many of the first half's open looks. … [Read more...]

Carpinteria's Kevin Lusterio and Manny Rodriguez were named to the Fillmore Tournament's all-tournament team after leading the Warriors to a 46-40 win over Rosamond and third place on Saturday.Rodriguez scored 20 more points for a 21.3 points-per-game average in the tournament. Lusterio, the Warriors' starting point gaurd, recorded 12 points, four rebounds, four steals and five assists against Rosamond, last year's CIF Division V-A champion. … [Read more...]

Elias Munoz scored 11 points on Saturday and earned all-tourney honors at the Pasadena Poly Tournament, but Bishop Diego fell to the hosts 59-57 after a furious fourth-quarter comeback came up just short.Junior Hayden Slaught had a chance to win the game with an open last-second three-point shot off a pre-designed inbounds play but the shot didn't fall."We were down 11 with two minutes to go," recalled head coach Ray Vazquez, whose young team falls to 5-3 on the season and went 1-2 in … [Read more...]

Whatever was working for the San Marcos boys basketball team early on against Santa Fe Christian on Friday quickly stopped working in a 53-38 setback in the Coast Union Tournament.After jumping out to a 14-4 lead, the Royals were outscored 7-0 to finish the first quarter and only scored 13 more points in the second and third quarters combined. … [Read more...]