Daniel Koches and Steven Saenz combined for 33 points and nine 3-pointers Thursday night as SBCC captured its opener in the 37th annual SBCC Classic with a 78-59 win over Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Koches, a 6-5 sophomore, tallied 12 of his season-high 18 points in the second half on 4-5 shooting from downtown. Saenz, a 5-7 freshman, added 15 points with five treys in eight attempts. They shot a combined 56.3 percent from beyond the arc (9-16).
SBCC"s David Lane takes the ball upcourt on Thursday night against Vandenberg.
The Vaqueros (4-6) moved into Friday’s 7 p.m. championship semifinal against Barstow (4-3), which outgunned Cypress 118-115 in overtime in the tourney opener. In other games, Victor Valley topped Hancock 72-67 in overtime and L.A. Valley took on Oxnard in the nightcap.
“It was good to get the momentum going at home,” said Koches, who hit 6-6 free throws and also had four rebounds and three assists in the Vaqueros’ home debut. “We don’t worry about what the other team so much as what we need to get done.”
Vandenberg, which only had nine players, commited 19 turnovers to nine for the Vaqueros. SBCC outscored the visitors 24-3 from the 3-point line in the second half. SBCC hit 14-38 from 3-point land while the Hawks made just 1-15. Jacari Miller led Vandenberg with 21 points.
Saenz hit a triple to ignite a 14-2 first-half run that pushed the Vaquero lead to 36-20. SBCC led 42-22 at intermission and the margin never got below 12 in the second half.
“The key was for us to get our pressure going and try to speed up the tempo of the game,” said coach Morris Hodges. “Those kind of teams typically try to slow it down. They played a lot of 2-3 zone and it was important for Daniel and Steve to hit 3-point shots and get them out of that zone.
“I think the conditioning takes effect if they just sit in the zone, no matter what.”
All 15 Vaqueros played and 11 scored. Center Ryan Gosselin had eight points and nine rebounds.
Friday’s consolation semifinals will pit Hancock against the Oxnard-L.A. Valley loser at 3 p.m., followed by Cypress and Vandenberg at 5. Victor Valley and the Oxnard-L.A. Valley winner will square off at 9 p.m.
Saturday’s schedule starts with the consolation final at 3 p.m. The third-place match will take place at 5 with the championship slated for 7 p.m.
