Cameron Nelson drained a 3-pointer from the right corner with eight seconds left on Thursday to lift SBCC over Rio Hondo 60-58 in a men’s basketball overtime thriller at the Hancock Holiday Classic in Santa Maria.
The Vaqueros (3-11) got 18 points from JP Dodson and 14 from Scott Burrows. They led 28-21 at intermission before the Roadrunners (2-10) rallied to force overtime on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that tied it at 50.
Trailing 58-55 with 16 seconds left in the five-minute extra session, Nelson was fouled on a 3-point try. He made two of three free throws to pull the Vaqueros within one. After Rio Hondo missed a pair of foul shots, Nelson nailed his game-winning triple.
Nelson, a freshman from Dos Pueblos High, hit 2-3 from 3-point land and scored eight points. Eric Becker led Santa Barbara with nine rebounds. Alex DiManno had eight points, seven assists and five rebounds.
“We didn’t shoot well (32 percent) but we didn’t have any long scoring droughts,” said coach Morris Hodges. “Our defense was solid.”
The Vaqueros will battle No. 5 Fresno City for the consolation title on Friday at 1 p.m.
