Rico Failla ignited a 20-0 SBCC streak by scoring the first eight points of the second half on Friday night and the Vaqueros used a big second half to top Victor Valley 69-50 in the consolation semifinals of the 40th annual SBCC Classic men’s basketball tournament.
Failla, a 6-2 freshman guard from Bainbridge, Wash., finished with a career-high 21 points, hitting 5-of-9 from the field and a perfect 10-10 from the free-throw line. He also had six rebounds and three steals.
Jalani Davis added 13 points and six boards while Logan Louks had eight points. Zach Templeton had five assists off the bench. All 14 Vaqueros got into the game and 12 scored.
Santa Barbara will meet Bakersfield in the consolation final on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Renegades beat L.A. Valley 80-67 in Friday’s opening game.
SBCC (3-5) trailed for much of the first half but ended on a 13-6 run to earn a 26-26 tie.
“We were really frustrated at halftime because we felt we weren’t working as hard as we should have,” said Failla. “We thought we were better than them. We talked about intensity at the half, then came out and forced a lot of turnovers.
The Vaqueros used their defense and full-court pressure to force 26 turnovers, leading to 28 points. SBCC outscored the Rams (0-5) 43-24 in the final 20 minutes, thanks to a 51 to 32 percent shooting advantage.
“Our main focus right now is trying to put a complete game together,” said Failla. “As long as we’re getting after it and working together, it usually works out pretty well.”
Defending tourney champ Hancock got 25 points from Leron Fisher and a double-double from Josh Varney (21 points, 14 rebounds) to beat Cypress 83-74. The Bulldogs (8-2) will meet either Mt. SAC or Pasadena for the championship on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Cypress and the Mt. SAC-Pasadena loser will play for third place at 5 p.m.
