Victor Bryant

Stephan Swenson scored a team-high 21 points. | Credit: ENTENZA After compiling a 6-1 record in early season non-conference play the UC Santa Barbara men's basketball team struggled with miscues in an 84-76 loss to UC San Diego to open Big West Conference competition on Thursday night at the Thunderdome. The Gauchos finished with 18 turnovers and allowed the visiting Tritons to gobble up 15 offensive rebounds in a game that head coach Joe Pasternak described as an early season test. “UC San Diego deserves a lot of credit. They are a really good team, talented team, older team experienced with those guys coming back and probably have two or three all-conference players,” Pasternack said. “They really shocked us with their offensive rebounds. They had 15 offensive rebounds and that was the game I thought.” UC San Diego packed the paint and forced the Gauchos to try and generate offense from the perimeter. Despite hot shooting from the outside, including 14-of-29 shooting overall from three-point range UC Santa Babara couldn't overcome the huge advantage in field goal attempts that the Tritons enjoyed. UCSB point guard Stephan Swenson's performance was indicative of the team as a whole as he finished with 21 points overall and converted 7-of-9 shots from three-point range but turned the ball over five times with five assists. “Steph Swenson as our point guard can't turn the ball over five times. That's the long and short of it,” Pasternack said. “He shot the ball unbelievably well and did some great things, but you can't turn the ball over as your point guard five times.” The Gauchos were able to translate hot shooting into an early lead as Swenson's third three-pointer of the first half put the Gauchos ahead 15-9 with 14:12 remaining. UCSB only made one two-point shot in the first half and the Tritons slowly took control of the game. An offensive rebound and put-back in transition by Chris Howell capped off a 10-0 UC San Diego run and increased the Tritons lead to 42-32 with 1:20 remaining in the first half. “They packed the paint. Every time we drove, they would go for steals and collapse,” said UCSB standout sophomore Jason Fontenet II, who finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds. “We just got to know that's what they are doing, take care of it, swing it, move the ball and make quick decisions.” UCSB cut its deficit to 50-49 on a three-pointer by Deuce Turner with 11:09 remaining in the second half. Turner was one of four UCSB players that reached double digits in scoring with 14 points, but the Gauchos could never quite get over the hump. Another Turner three-pointer cut the Gauchos deficit to 78-72 with 1:05 remaining, but UC San Diego converted its free throws down the stretch to secure the victory. Next up for UCSB is a road game at UC Davis on Saturday, December 8 beginning at 5 p.m.

Lauren Robles scored all 17 of her points in the second half. | Credit: Gary Kim A strong second half led to a signature non-league victory for the Dos Pueblos High girls' basketball team. Freshman Kindah Ahmad-Reda and senior Lauren Robles combined for 37 points and the Chargers overcame a 31-26 halftime deficit to defeat visiting Oaks Christian 69-64 on Friday night at Sovine Gym. “It has been a long process, but I feel like they are starting to gel a little bit more and we're starting to come together,” said Dos Pueblos High coach Manny Murillo. “I feel our second half kind of displayed that. We stayed level headed.” Oaks Christian took control of the game early in the first quarter. A three-pointer by Faith O'Daniel increased the Lions lead to 15-7 midway through the period. A corner three-pointer by Presley Kushner with just over a minute remaining in the first quarter extended the Oaks Christian lead to 22-13. Back-to-back baskets inside by Hanah Remick late in the second quarter helped the Chargers chip away and cut the deficit to 31-26 at halftime. The Dos Pueblos program is known for developing excellent three-point shooters, but the Chargers failed to make a shot from long distance in the first half. “I feel like we got a lot of good shots. That was the first time we've ever played a half without making a three-pointer,” Murillo said. “The message at halftime was the same as the beginning of the game. Stick to our gameplan, continue doing what we are doing. We got the looks we wanted and I knew they were going to fall in the second half.” After going scoreless in the first half Robles caught fire and made five three-pointers in the second half. A corner three-pointer by Robles gave Dos Pueblos its first lead, 48-47, at the 7:15 mark of the fourth quarter. The two teams went back and forth for the remainder of the fourth quarter. Ahmad-Reda found Asha Nayak for a layup that put Dos Pueblos ahead 54-49 with just under six minutes remaining. A layup by Oaks Christian's Sophia Wamba tied the score at 56-56 with 3:35 remaining in the game. On the ensuing possession Nayak was fouled on a drive to the rim and a technical foul was assessed against the Oaks Christian bench. Dos Pueblos converted all four free throws to take a 60-56 lead with 3:13 remaining. The Lions responded with a quick 5-0 run capped off by a three-point play by Kushner that put them ahead 61-60 with 2:23 left in the game. Robles came through in the clutch with a deep three-pointer that put Dos Pueblos back ahead 63-61 with 1:30 remaining. However, Oaks Christian responded with another three-point play, this time by senior point guard Sarah Le. With 36 seconds to play, Robles knocked down a corner three-pointer to put Dos Pueblos ahead for good 67-64. Nayak knocked down two free throws with 8.3 seconds remaining to secure the victory. Dos Pueblos (3-3 overall) will open Channel League play on Tuesday, December 10 at Buena.

SBART Press Luncheon: Santa Barbara High Girls Tennis Honored For CIF-SS Division 3 Championship Kayla Mariquez is the Scholar Athletes of the Year Award Recipient for Carpinteria High Santa Barbara High girls' tennis won the CIF-SS Division 3 Championship. | Credit: Victor Bryant The weekly Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon was highlighted by the triumphant appearance of the CIF-SS Division 3 Champion Santa Barbara High girls tennis team. The Dons looked back on their run through the playoffs, which included four road matches, and shared the keys to their historic success. Santa Barbara defeated Santa Monica on Friday November 15 in the Championship match. “These girls brought the energy. They brought the focus. They love each other. They work incredibly hard,” said Santa Barbara High coach Danny Echt. “There were a lot of tears and a lot of laughs and I tell you that was part of it. What you put in is often what you get out.” In a game that is decided by individual and doubles performances the Santa Barbara high success was built upon team chemistry and the strength of the collective group. “I want to thank them individually and collectively for helping me understand what a team can be,” Echt said. “I challenge them for the remainder of their lives to become team members as they did this time and their lives will be that much better.” Athletes of the Week John Duffy of Dos Pueblos High boys' tennis and Juliana Horton of Santa Barbara High girls' water polo were honored as SBART Athletes of the Week. Horton scored 25 goals in four games, including a Santa Barbara High single game record ten goals in an 18-15 loss to Camarillo. Horton is only a freshman and leads an extremely young Santra Barbara High team. Duffy scored five goals in four games at the Cats & Hounds Tournament. Dos Pueblos won the tournament and Duffy was named tournament MVP. Scholar Athlete of the Year Carpinteria Kayla Manriquez is both a standout on the tennis court and in the classroom. As a result she was named the Scholar Athlete of the Year for Carpinteria High. Carpinteria High girls' tennis has captured back-to-back Citrus Coat League titles and Manriquez is a huge part of that success as a two-time CCL Doubles Champion along with her teammate Charlotte Cooney. Manriquez maintains a 4.7 GPA and earned the President's Education Outstanding Academic Excellence award three times. In addition, Manriquez has received the Carpinteria High School Athletics Award, Most Improved Carpinteria High Varsity Tennis award, CIF-SS Academics Integrity Athletics Award among many other accolades.

Justin Herrera scored the game winner for Dos Pueblos.

Boys Basketball Roundup: Santa Barbara and San Marcos Open Channel League Play With Home Victories Luke Zuffelato Poured in 27 Points in a Victory over Rio Mesa Owen Horn let's it fly from three-point range. | Credit: Gary Kim The senior trio of Luke Zuffelato, Carter Battle and Diesel Lowe combined for 61 points as the Santa Barbara High boys' basketball team opened Channel League play with a 86-73 victory over Rio Mesa on Tuesday night. The Dons got off to a slow start, but pulled away from the visiting Spartans with a third-quarter surge and cruised to victory. “It took us a while to get going, but a lot of credit to Rio Mesa they played really hard, they battled and they shot really well,” said Santa Barbara High coach Greg Zuffelato. “We've played pretty high level competition and I think we might have thought we could just come into this league game and roll through them, but the League is good; everybody can beat anybody on a given night.” Rio Mesa standout Jackson Knowles knocked down a contested three-pointer off the dribble. Cutting the Spartans' deficit to 46-40 early in the third quarter. Knowles finished with a team-high 25 points. However, Santa Barbara responded with a 17-3 run that was capped off by a steal and transition layup by Lowe that increased the Santa Barbara lead to 63-43 with just over a minute remaining in the third quarter. Once the Dons picked up the defensive intensity and started playing in the open floor Rio Mesa could not keep up. Zuffelato finished with a game-high 27 points and D.J. Wilson made four three-pointers to give the Dons a much-needed boost from the outside. Santa Barbara {4-2 overall, 1-0 Channel League} will travel to Pacifica on Thursday with tipoff set for 7 p.m. San Marcos 70, Pacifica 37 The Royals jumped out to a 38-12 halftime lead and never looked back. Ten San Marcos players reached the scoring column in the runaway victory. Junior Koji Hefner led all scorers with 17 points and sophomore Aidan Conlan chipped in 15 points. San Marcos (3-3 overall, 1-0 Channel League) will host Rio Mesa on Thursday beginning at 7 p.m.

Brody Green scored a team-high 23 points | Credit: Gary Kim The first week of Channel League play has been promising for the San Marcos High boys' basketball team. The Royals exploded offensively in the second half and pulled away for a 76-52 victory over Rio Mesa on Thursday night at the Thunderhut. “We have a really young team and so when I got here we had to get used to the intensity that I wanted to play at,” said first-year head coach Matt Jordan. “We had a ten day break and I think we have come together as a group. Now we are executing and playing hard as opposed to just playing hard.” With the victory, San Marcos improved to 4-3 overall and 2-0 in Channel League play. The foundation of what can be considered a breakthrough performance for the Royals began in the defensive end as San Marcos held Rio Mesa scoreless until midway through the first quarter. The Royals took a 7-0 lead on a layup in transition by sophomore Aidan Conlan. A pull-up jumper by Brody Green in the closing moments of the first quarter put San Marcos ahead 17-12. Rio Mesa surged ahead briefly in the second quarter behind incredible shot making from 6'4” senior Jackson Knowles. He scored 17 of his 23 points in the first half and his fifth three-pointer of the game put the Spartans ahead 25-23 midway through the second quarter. However, San Marcos responded with a 9-4 run to close the half that was sparked by Green, who knocked down a three-pointer to give the Royals a 30-27 lead with 1:20 remaining in the second quarter. Green followed that up with a driving layup with five seconds left before halftime that increased the San Marcos lead to 32-27. The offense picked up in the third quarter as San Marcos outscored Rio Mesa 26-14 to take a commanding 58-41 lead. The Royals displayed impressive ball movement during the run and made 14 three-pointers overall. Danny Diaz led San Marco's barrage from long range. He finished with 17 points, including five three-pointers. Green knocked down four shots from long range on his way to team-high 23 points. Conlan drained three three-pointers and scored eleven points. “We have two special players in Brody Green and Koji Hefner and they can really get down hill,” Jordan said. “We're taking three-pointers that are inside out where our feet are set and that's the difference.” San Marcos ripped off an 11-0 run midway through the fourth quarter capped off by a Lincoln Gengo fastbreak layup that increased their lead to 70-48. San Marcos will host St. Bonaventure (8-2 overall) in a non-league contest on Saturday beginning at 6:30. Ventura 65, Dos Pueblos 53 The visiting Cougars knocked down 13 three-pointers and snapped a two-game Dos Pueblos winning streak. Dos Pueblos jumped out to an early 21-9 lead, but Ventura flipped the script in the second quarter and led 31-23 at halftime. Coulter Jay scored 14 points to lead DP, Evan Pinsker had 13 points and Shane Grant added 10.

The Royals are 5-6 overall this season.

Marcus Scudder led all scorers with 22 points in defeat.

The Chargers drop to 5-6 overall this season.

Duah attended Dunn School in Los Olivos before enrolling at UC Santa Barbara.