SBCC gave the state’s only unbeaten team all it could handle in Sunday’s opening round of the Hancock Holiday Classic before dropping a 92-90 overtime decision to top-ranked Fresno City. The Vaqueros (5-12) were working for the last shot in overtime but the Rams (18-0) forced a turnover with nine seconds left and then hit a tough 18-footer near the top of the key to pull out the victory in Santa Maria.
Mark Keeten and Ryan Gosselin led Santa Barbara with 26 points each. It was a season high for Gosselin, a 6-8 freshman from Carpinteria High, who made 10-of-12 shots and grabbed five rebounds.
The Vaqueros, who were playing their first game in 15 days, stormed back from a 42-29 halftime deficit to take a 71-67 lead with 4:40 to play in regulation. With the score tied at 77, SBCC had several opportunities to take the lead, including a missed layup with 20 seconds to go in regulation.
“We fought back and showed a lot of resilincy,” said coach Morris Hodges. “We really executed well under pressure. We just let it slip away at the end.”
SBCC built a six-point lead in the five-minute overtime and was ahead 87-82 with 1:35 remaining. Fresno tied it up with five straight points before Gosselin hit 1 of 2 free throws and David Lane scored a bucket to put the Vaqueros up 90-87 with 50 seconds left.
Fresno hit another trey at the 30-second mark and then got the ball back on a turnover in traffic.
SBCC will take on Cuesta or Palomar in the consolation semifinals on Monday at 1 p.m.
