The Santa Barbara Breakers opened up a tight contest in the 4th quarter to beat the Newport Beach Surf 99-79 last Monday in Porter Ranch, Ca.
The Breakers outscored the Surf 31-20 in the final frame after trailing in the third quarter 57-56. League leading scorer Austin Okosun (6’10 Seton Hall and Ventura resident) led the way for the Breakers with 25 points, a season high 16 rebounds and 8 block shots, while patrolling the paint at both ends of the floor. The Breakers shot a season high 11-20 from 3 point land. Tim Taylor, 23 points, (Breakers All-Time Leading Scorer) nailed 2-3 trey’s in the second half while Jordan Burris (CS San Bernadino/Reno-NBDL) and Tim Billingsley (Neosho CC) buried 4 and 3 trey’s each.
The Surf copied the Breaker’s previous opponent’s attempting to spread the floor for penetration and 3’s to nullify the Breakers frontline heighth advantage but the Santa Barbara squad threw up an effective 3-2 zone, thwarting the Surf’s
strategy.
After leading by only 4 points at halftime, the Breakers outscored the Surf 43-22 in the final 18 minutes of the game.
Also contributing to the victory was Jordan Burris, 20 points, Tim Billingsley, 17 points and Ryan Gosling(Carpinteria) with 14 points.
The Breakers (4-1) are off for a week before resuming WCBL action when they face the 4-1 Reseda Renegades. Each team is in a 3-way tie for first place with the Hollywood Shooting Stars.
