Bolden Brace and Ben Clay combined for 45 points, and Santa Barbara High shot a blistering 66 percent on 2-point baskets in rolling past Buena, 88-63, in a Channel League boys basketball game at Buena on Wednesday night.
The win, combined with San Marcos’ loss at Ventura, creates a three-way tie for first place after the first round of games. The Dons, Royals and Cougars are all 3-1. Santa Barbara, which is 20-4 overall, hosts San Marcos on Friday night to start the second round.
Brace played a stellar all-around game. He scored 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting, had eight assists, five rebounds and four blocked shots.
Clay was dominating in the paint. He scored 22 points on 10-15 shooting and hauled in 13 rebounds. Nick Busch added 12 points and Chris Givens buried three 3-pointers en route to 11 points.
Santa Barbara was on fire from the start, bolting out to a 25-11 lead in the first quarter. The Dons expanded it to 53-30 by halftime.
