Santa Barbara’s boys basketball team saw a recurring theme on Friday night. The Dons struggled on offense again, coming up shy of 40 points again in a 49-38 Channel League loss to Buena at J.R. Richards Gym.
“The bottom line is we got to execute,” said Santa Barbara head coach Chris Hantgin. “We can’t win if we’re going to score 38 points. That’s the bottom line.”
Clifford Anderson was Santa Barbara’s top scorer with eight points. Spencer Mikles and Andrew Adams added six more each.
Buena did its part in putting the Dons down early, connecting on five 3-pointers in the first quarter alone. The Bulldogs held a 28-14 lead at halftime.
Captians Robert Munoz and Jordan Turner led the Bulldogs (12-8, 1-3) in scoring with 12 and 11 points respectively.
“I was worried about Santa Barbara,” said Buena head coach Craig Williams. “I mean, I know they’ve had some rough games but they haven’t lately. They’ve been there.”
Even so, the Dons couldn’t prevent themselves from losing their 20th game of the season. Santa Barbara faces San Marcos next Friday at the Sports Pavilion to start the second round of Channel League.
BUENA 49, SANTA BARBARA 38
BUENA – Boys 5, Shrubb 5, McGuire 3, Munoz 12, Smith 5, Berg 6, Reyes 2, Turner 11. Totals – 16 FG, 11-16 FT, 49.
SANTA BARBARA – Marshall 3, Adams 6, Martinez 4, Heddon 5, Madrigal 2, Mikles 6, Aronson 4, Anderson 8. Totals – 14 FG, 9-14 FT, 38.
Buena 15 13 13 18 – 49
Santa Barbara 6 8 10 14 – 38
3-ptrs – B 6 (Turner, Smith, McGuire, Munoz, Boys, Shrubb), SB 1 (Heddon).
