By Jimmy Friery
SANTA BARBARA, CA – The Santa Barbara City College Men's Basketball team lost to Chaffey in a high-scoring affair Friday afternoon at home, 103-84. The Vaqueros finish non-conference play 6-10.
"We need to work on toughness in the lane and taking care of the ball as we move into conference [play]," head coach Devin Engebretsen said. "And, getting healthy."
The Vaqueros had held their opponents to less than 70 points in six of their last seven games. It was evident early that that mark would be in jeopardy, though, as Chaffey would score 51 points in the first half alone.
"Turnovers really hurt us in the first half, digging a pretty big hole against a team who can really score," Engebretsen said. The Vaqueros turned the ball over 25 times overall, their most of any game this season.
The Vaqueros faced a 14-point deficit at 51-37 at halftime, but Truman Teuber went on a 10-0 run all by himself in the first four minutes of the second half. The 4-point deficit would go back and forth to 62-58 with nine minutes remaining.
However, the turnover bug would bite the Vaqueros again. SBCC turned it over on three straight possessions, resulting in a now 8-point deficit. After cutting it back to 5, Chaffey would go on a 9-0 run thanks to more turnovers and fouls. The renewed cushion allowed them to coast for the last few minutes to a 103-84 victory.
"In the second half, our fouling put us back in another hole," Engebretsen said. "They shot a ton more free throws than us."
That is very true, as Chaffey shot a whopping 47 free throws, making 37 of them. That, combined with 43 points off turnovers, meant 80 of their 103 points were off turnovers or at the free throw line. SBCC's 30 fouls are also the most they have committed in a game this season.
The Vaqueros shot better than and outrebounded Chaffey by considerable margins, however. SBCC shot 57% from the field compared to Chaffey's 46%, and an even wider 44% from three versus just 24% for Chaffey. SBCC had 38 rebounds to Chaffey's 30.
Truman Teuber finished with 25 points in just 24 minutes, leaving early with an injury. Isaiah Hicks had 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.
"Truman had a really nice shooting game, and Isaish contributed with scoring and attacking, as well," Engebretsen said.
Nick Tjaden dished 10 assists to lead the team. William Pace led all Vaqueros with 9 rebounds, including 4 offensive rebounds.
With multiple key players with injury concerns, the Vaqueros have 12 days to heal up and rest. Conference play begins on Wednesday, January 10 at home against Cuesta at 5:00 PM.
