Malik Heptot scored 17 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead Dos Pueblos to a 52-40 boys basketball win at Santa Barbara on Wednesday.
Jay Larinan added 10 points and pulled down 14 rebounds — six of them on the offensive glass. The Chargers finished with 13 offensive rebounds as a team.
Santa Barbara, meanwhile, was ahead for most of the first half but slowed down and scored just five points in the third quarter. Daniel Marshall had 14 points while Andrew Adams scored 10. The Dons are now a dismal 1-22 on the season, but competitive showings against San Marcos and the Chargers in their last two games have been encouraging.
Dos Pueblos guard Eric Arroyo goes up for a shot over Santa Barbara's Daniel Heddan.
“I could not be more proud of the guys’ effort and the fact that we’re making improvements,” said coach Chris Hantgin. “DP is a tremendous offensive rebounding team, and they got some put-backs and opportunities.”
It was Heptot’s second game of the season after returning from a foot injury. While he was rusty offensively in the Chargers’ big win against Ventura last week, he hit some early jumpers looked confident at the free-throw line against the Dons.
Matt McClenathen, the team’s leading scorer on the season, scored just six points and has gotten far less shots with the 6-foot-9 big man in the game, but said that the balance has worked out for the better.
“It’s been pretty good. We were really well-balanced in the Ventura game. It’s an adjustment from the beginning of the year. I was putting up bigger numbers then, but a lot of those times we weren’t getting the W,” he said.
Santa Barbara had a 13-11 lead at the end of the first quarter, and extended it to 18-11 on a pull-up trey by Marshall early in the second. DP reclaimed the advantaged on an offensive rebound and put-back by Cameron Nelson that put the visitors up 19-18. A jumper at the elbow by Robbie Mestas sent thigs into halftime knotted up.
The Chargers led 29-28 towards the end of the third before point guard Pablo Miranda used a great head-fake and weaved through traffic for a lay-up. On DP’s next possession, Miranda lobbed a high pass into the post for Heptot, who made the easy lay-up and increased the lead to 33-28.
Andrew Adams steps up at the line.
Larinan hit DP’s only 3-pointer early in the fourth, but the Chargers soon had a scary moment when Miranda went down hard clutching his shoulder. Coach Joe Zamora said he would be okay. Clifford Anderson was fouled on a baby hook shot and converted the and-1 as the Dons cut it to six at 36-30 with about six minutes left. DP got to the free-throw line 17 times from that point forward and made 12, pulling away in the final minutes as Santa Barbara tried to put up 3-pointers and close the gap.
While Larinan, McClenathen and Heptot are the Chargers’ most touted threats, Miranda’s efficiency at point guard has been key,according to Zamora.
“We kind of threw him in the fire at point guard as a sophomore last year and there was a reason for it,” said the coach. “This year he leads us in assists, and he’s just so quick defensively. Plus he’s just a great student-athlete. He works his butt off in the classroom.”
The Chargers are now 12-10 overall and 4-2 in the Channel League. They host Buena on Friday, while the Dons play at Ventura.
DOS PUEBLOS 52, SANTA BARBARA 40
DOS PUEBLOS — Arroyo 5, Miranda 4, McClenathen 6, Pottenger 1, Nelson 5, Larinan 10, Heptot 17, Mestas 4. Totals 16 19-29 52.
SANTA BARBARA — Mikles 2, Aronson 6, Heddan 3, Anderson 5, Marsh 14, Adams 10. Totals 15 7-14 40.
Dos Pueblos…11 12 10 19 — 52
Santa Barbara…13 10 5 12 — 40
3-point goals — DP 1 (Larinan), SB 3 (Marshall 2, Adams 1). Total fouls — DP 17, SB 19.
