Dos Pueblos bested a field of 30 prep boys basketball teams last weekend at the Commotion by the Ocean Tournament held by Carpinteria High School.
The Chargers swept through their pool impressively, going 4-0 with wins over Newbury Park, Pacifica, West Hills and Glendora. They then downed Camarillo and West Ranch to make the title game of the Championship Bracket, ultimately defeating Glendora once again in a low-scoring 37-24 championship game.
“When DP played Glendora the first time is was absolutely beautiful basketball. The level of play this year, all-around, was as high as it’s been in my 25 years running the tournament,” said Carpinteria coach John Ward, who ran the event as Bishop Diego’s head coach before taking over for the Warriors. He said the championship game was low-scoring because “everyone was just exhausted by the end.”
DP finished third in the Channel League last season with an overall record of 14-12, and despite graduating standouts Matt McClenathen and Malik Heptot, return with senior Jay Larinan as one of the top players in the league. Among opponents faced in the tournament, Pacifica went 20-8 last season and Glendora was an 18-9 squad out of the solid Sierra League.
Defending Channel League champion San Marcos took fourth in a pool that consisted of heavyweight programs such as Oaks Christian, Camarillo and Royal. After pool play, the Royals went on to beat Agoura 53-50 in the first round of the Warrior Bracket before being knocked out by Rio Mesa, 56-44.
Host Carpinteria won its pool, which consisted of Villanova Prep, Morro Bay, Channel Islands and Salesian. The Warriors defeated every team in the pool except for an opening loss to Salesian, and grinded through two overtimes in the first round of the Carpinteria Bracket before succumbing to West Hills, 37-34. West Hills would go on to defeat Santa Barbara in the championship of the bracket, 43-40. Ward noted that the Warriors lost to Morro Bay by 30 points earlier in the summer, showing a huge improvement to come back and beat the Pirates this time around.
The Dons, who recorded just one win all of last season, went 0-4 in pool play but beat St. Bonaventure (47-44) and Morro Bay (51-48) in a couple of close contests to make it to the Carpinteria Bracket finals.
Bishop Diego’s run to second place in its pool consisted of wins over Santa Ynez, Mogollon and Santa Paula, and a four-point loss to St. Bonaventure. The Cardinals took down Cabrillo 45-34 in the first round of the Carpinteria Bracket, but then lost to West Hills 51-39.
“A lot of the games were incredibly close, and I’ve heard nothing but positive feedback on the tournament,” said Ward. “I was absolutely impressed with Dos Pueblos, and I was impressed with a lot of teams, to tell you the truth.”
