Santa Barbara Pulls Away From Corona Del Mar for 89-78 Victory

Luke Zuffelato scored 34 points as the Santa Barbara High boys’ basketball team picked up an 89-78 victory over Corona Del Mar in a non-league contest on Saturday afternoon at J.R. Richards Gymnasium. 

The Dons have competed against an impressive slate of non-league opponents thus far and that continued against the visiting Sea Kings, who came into the game with a 7-1 record. 

“I think the Phoenix trip, and some of the big team’s we’ve been playing, including Oak Park, prepared us for the physical side of the game,” said Santa Barbara coach Greg Zuffellato. “We responded, instead of getting punched and falling down, this time we got punched in the first quarter and we fought back.”

Corona Del Mar jumped out to a big early lead by pounding the ball inside. A three-point play by Nick Salmon gave the Sea Kings a 17-6 lead midway through the first quarter.

However, Santa Barbara closed the first quarter on a 13-6 run. Santa Barbara freshman Owen Horn then opened the second quarter with a corner three-pointer, cutting the Dons’ deficit to 23-22.

The Dons outscored Corona Del Mar 27-13 overall in the second quarter. An offensive rebound and put-back by Finn Whipps increased the Santa Barbara lead to 44-34 with 1:02 remaining before halftime. 

In the second half, Corona Del Mar came out in a box-and-one defense that was aimed at making things difficult for Zuffelato and cut the deficit to 52-47 on a basket inside by Maxwell Scott.

However, the Dons quickly regained their footing as back-to-back three-pointers by Waylon Finkle and Horn increased their lead to 60-49 with just under two minutes remaining in the third quarter.

“Coach Shyrock, our JV coach, who is fantastic, had a new set for us against zone, but specifically against a box-and-one,” Zuffelato said. “We practice against that because we know we face box-and-one, triangle-and-two, face guarding, we’ve faced it all. Luke’s going to see it all year.”

A basket plus the foul by Tobin Shyrock increased the Santa Barbara lead to 81-60 with 3:50 remaining in the fourth quarter. Shyrock missed a big chunk of the season thus far due to injury, but the senior’s presence now that he is back in the lineup boosts the Dons to a different level. He finished with 14 points.

Corona Del Mar knocked down four three-pointers in the last three minutes of the fourth quarter but the final result was never in doubt.

Freshman Maxwell Scott led the Sea Kings with 26 points. Will Harman provided excellent energy for Santa Barbara throughout the game and finished with ten points.