Santa Barbara got a lesson in how toughness wins basketball games Wednesday night in the gold division semifinals of the Tournament of Champions.
The Dons were taken out of their game in the first half by an aggressive St. Joseph team and fell behind by 19 points. They stepped up their play midway through the second half and made a run at the Knights before falling 57-48 at J.R. Richards Gym.
Alyson Beebe of St. Joseph was the high scorer for the game with 22 points.
“Emotionally, we couldn’t get into our offense in the first half,” Santa Barbara coach Andrew Butcher said. “We did in the second half and we scored.”
The Dons trailed 23-10 after the first quarter and 33-18 at halftime.
“In the first half, we were just throwing them the ball. If we don’t throw them the ball and give them those layups, at the end of the game, when they’re in foul trouble, it’s an even game,” Butcher said. “We have to toughen up with our decision making and our physical play.
“It’s a learning experience.”
No. 1 seeded St. Joseph will play No. 2 Buena for the gold division championship at 7:30 tonight at J.R. Richards Gym. Buena advanced to the title game with a 53-51 win over Arroyo Grande. Keani Albanez poured in 31 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, to pace the Bulldogs.
The green division final will pit Peninsula against Dana Hills at 5:45 p.m. Peninsula knocked off top-seeded Atascadero 53-41, while Dana Hills beat Soquel 45-38.
After getting rattled by St. Joseph’s high pressure in the first two quarters, the Dons composed themselves and started playing smarter. They were trailing 42-22 midway through the third quarter before taking it to the Knights, who won their previous two tournament games by 20 or more points.
Santa Barbara's Sylvia Hoover goes up for two points against St. Joseph in the Tournament of Champions semifinals..
Tess Emerson, who sat out the early part of the quarter in foul trouble, got Santa Barbara going with six straight points. Ivette Gil followed with a drive to the hoop, cutting the deficit to 43-32.
Taking advantage of three St. Joseph starters with four fouls, including 6-3 standout Aly Beebe, Emerson hit a turnaround jumper, Gil drove through the key for a basket and Emerson scored again in the low post to cut the margin to nine, 50-41 with 2:51 to play.
“(The game) was called a little bit tight and that allowed (the Dons) the opportunity to make some moves to the basket,” said St. Joseph coach Ed Torres. “We were a little tentative because of foul trouble.
“As soon as they controlled the tempo, it turned into a different game of like a boxing match, going back and forth; it became a half-court game, very physical,” he added. “We wanted to control the tempo and run more, but foul trouble took us out of our game. Give Santa Barbara credit, they are a good team.”
The Knights were able to hold off the surging Dons in the last two minutes by making their free throws.
“This really helps us down the road, particularly in the fourth quarter,” Torres said of the lesson his team took from the game. “They made a run at us when we were in foul trouble. I thought we did a good job taking care of the ball and making free throws when it counted.”
Beebe scored 22 points and Brianna Bognuda scored 10 for the Knights (3-3).
Santa Barbara was led by Emerson with 21 points and Gil with 13.
The Dons (8-3) play Arroyo Grande in the third-place game at 4 p.m.
