Carpinteria nearly overcame a sub-par shooting night to knock off the hosts of the Fillmore Tournament, instead falling 57-51 to the Flashes on Friday night.
While the Warriors were 16-for-59 from the field, they did shoot over 80 percent from the free throw line and were even with Fillmore in the fourth quarter before a late run decided the game.
“We played better defense than we have all season,” said Warriors coach John Ward. “We put ourselves in a position to win.”
Kevin Lusterio knocked down four 3-pointers on his way to a season-high 27 points. The senior point guard was 7-for-7 on free throws. Manny Rodriguez tallied 16 points, 14 rebounds. Daniel Babineaux totaled four points and seven rebounds.
Fillmore was able to convert on 9-of-10 free throw attempts in the fourth quarter to hold off the Warriors.
Carpinteria (2-1), which plays Nordhoff in Saturday’s third-place game, gets another shot at the Flashes next Friday on the opening day of the Jim Bashore Classic.
FILLMORE 57, CARPINTERIA 51
CARPINTERIA – Chavez 2, Babineaux 4, Lusterio 27, Saenz 2, Rodriguez 16. Totals – 16, 15-19 FT. 51
FILLMORE – Dezavala 8, Cole 2, Barajas 9, Nelson 11, Estrella 12, De la Paz 15, Totals 20, 14-18, 57.
Carpinteria – 5 14 16 16 – 57
Fillmore – 10 16 12 18 – 51
3-ptr – C 4 (Lusterio). Total Fouls C 19, F 14. Fouled Out – Sova. Records 4-2, 2-1.
