SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA – The Santa Barbara City College Men's Basketball team won both of their games at the MidState Bank Tournament at Cuesta College this weekend. They head into winter break on a 3-game win streak and winners of 4 of their last 5.
"We're still a work in progress," head coach Devin Engebretsen said. "I feel like we're improving at the right time."
The Friday game came against Hartnell, a rematch of the Vaqueros' 68-60 loss two weekends prior in Monterey. The Vaqueros had an 11-point deficit at halftime in that one, but flipped the script in this weekend's game.
After a solid first half, the Vaqueros held a 33-29 advantage. They seemed to have built off the momentum of last weekend's solid showing, coming off an electric third place game win to cap off the SBCC Classic tournament.
The offense's steadiness kept Hartnell at bay, with both teams scoring 38 in the second half. By that math, SBCC won 71-67, with the shooting stats being the most important math besides the final score. The Vaqueros shot 27 for 54 (50%) from the field and 7 for 17 (41.2%) from three.
A big part of that equation was Isaiah Hicks, who had a season-high 26 points shooting 11 for 17 overall and 4 for 6 from beyond the arc. He also led the team in assists with 4.
William Pace had 2 and-1s back-to-back down the stretch and was another key figure for the Vaqueros, scoring 12 points and grabbing a team-leading 7 rebounds. Truman Teuber finished with 11 points and made all 4 of his free throws, which was huge considering the 4-point margin of victory.
Hoping to 2-game sweep the weekend, the Vaqueros were tasked with Barstow on Saturday. Coming out slow in the first half, the Vaqueros found themselves down 35-30 at its conclusion. Their confidence was unwavering, though, as they burst out to take a commanding lead and control the flow immediately out of the break.
A few minutes into the second half, the Vaqueros took a 43-35 lead—a 13-0 run. With around 11 minutes left, that ballooned to a 52-37 lead, capping off a 22-2 run out of halftime. That run would basically be the difference, as the Vaqueros cruised to their second win in as many games, 80-64.
"Another team effort, everything we do has got to be all hands-on deck, we got to do it together," Engebretsen said.
Truman Teuber scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, also contributing 5 rebounds throughout the full game. He, again, made all (6) of his free throws. The reliable sophomore guard is 41 for 44 (93.2%) from the line this season.
Ethan Boness came off the bench to spark the Vaqueros for 13 points, leading all bench scorers, shooting 3 for 6 from three. Nick Tjaden was also a key piece, contributing a team-leading 7 assists and a team-leading 4 steals.
Isaiah Hicks rounded out his all-tournament team weekend with another 13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.
"I think Isaiah, both games, really came out with locked-in focus," Engebretsen said.
Big man William Pace led the team in points (20)—shooting 7 for 8 from the floor—and rebounds (7).
"I feel like [Saturday], for Will, it was the culmination of all the hard work he's been putting in on his offensive craft—in terms of being patient with the ball, finishing with a high release, making all his bunnies and chippies around the basket," Engebretsen said proudly.
"We've been preaching to him, 'play slower.' He's a really good athlete. He played slower today, made great moves, finished."
Intertwined with the Vaqueros getting more towards where they want to be offensively, their defense remained remarkably consistent. SBCC held both Hartnell and Barstow in the sixties in terms of points scored, something they have done in each of their last 5 games.
"We scored 71 on Friday and we scored 80 Saturday, so if we can be in the seventies and eighties, I think that bodes well for us," Engebretsen said. "We held Hartnell to 67 and Barstow to 64," he continued, "that's kind of our theme—holding teams in the sixties."
The Vaqueros improve to 6-9 heading into a two-week break. They next play Chaffey at home on Friday, December 29, the final tune-up game before conference play begins at home on January 10 against Cuesta.
