By Jimmy Friery
SANTA BARBARA, CA – The Santa Barbara City College Men's Basketball team won their final game of the season Friday night, 77-64, over Oxnard while celebrating sophomore night.
"It was a great night for our kids and hopefully it's something to build on moving forward with the program," head coach Devin Engebretsen said. "It was a nice send off for our sophomores."
Honoring graduating sophomores Truman Teuber, Isaiah Hicks, and Tyler Williams, the Vaqueros were playing in front of likely the biggest crowd of the year. They did not disappoint.
With the large crowd and considering it was the last game for both teams, there was some high energy on the court. The back-and-forth first half was electric with 7 lead changes, lots of fouls, and some testiness from all involved. Naturally, there were ties at 11-11, 21-21, and 32-32.
Over the last 3:27, though, Oxnard closed the half on a 7-2 run, breaking away to a small lead of 39-35 at the half. Nick Tjaden made an and-1 layup with 0.5 left, the Vaqueros only bucket in that span.
"We were kind of in a track meet in the first half. … We just can't play that way," Engebretsen said.
Despite the relatively high-scoring numbers, defense was the story of the first half. Oxnard pressed and trapped the Vaqueros into 6 turnovers over the last 5 minutes, including a span of 4 turnovers on 5 possessions. Each team also went into the locker room in foul trouble; all 5 Vaquero starters had 2 fouls, and 4 of Oxnard's starters had 2 or more fouls, as did Theo Briscoe off the bench.
Out of the break, Ethan Boness made his first three of the night, and after back-to-back steals by the Vaqueros, Isaiah Hicks made his third three to make it 43-41 SBCC.
Later, a three put Oxnard up 50-45. William Pace then had an and-1 layup and made the free throw to convert the 3-point play. Evan David then made a layup, and on the next possession, pulled down an offensive rebound and was fouled on the putback. He was clutch, sinking both of his free throws and once again giving SBCC the lead at 54-53 with just under 10 minutes remaining. The Vaqueros would never relinquish the lead.
Immediately after, Tyler Williams made a jumper and hit a three on back-to-back possessions, giving the Vaqueros some breathing room at 59-53 into an Oxnard timeout. Right out of the timeout, though, Oxnard hit a three to get back to 59-56.
With 6 minutes left, Nick Tjaden made his only three-point attempt of the second half on the stands-side of the court, inciting the roar of the crowd. At 66-59 with 5 minutes left, head coach Devin Engebretsen called timeout on the next possession and said in the huddle, "It's winning time boys!"
With 2 minutes remaining, the Vaqueros were still looking for the knockout blow. Isaiah Hicks drained a three, his fourth of the night, to increase the lead to 73-64, all but icing the game.
In the last minute, Tyler Williams got a defensive rebound and Isaiah Hicks was fouled, making both of his free throws. Engebretsen subbed out his two sophomores playing that night to an ovation from the crowd, and time expired with a 77-64 SBCC victory.
The Vaqueros figured out how to handle the Oxnard press in the second half, outscoring Oxnard 42-25 in the second half.
"They showed up for each other, particularly in the second half," Engebretsen spoke proudly of his players. "We kind of got things under control in the second half, and our offense not turning the ball over and getting quality looks actually helps our defense."
San Marcos graduate Isaiah Hicks played phenomenally in his final SBCC game, scoring 22 points in 38 minutes, making 4 threes that all felt like they were in big moments. He also showed a ton of poise, shooting 6 for 6 from the free throw line. Hicks was also second on the team in assists with 5.
"I want to give a big shoutout to Isaiah for scoring the ball, hitting some huge shots late, hitting two free throws late," Engebretsen said.
Bishop Diego graduate Tyler Williams also was a key contributor in his last game as a Vaquero, scoring 11 points with 8 rebounds.
"Tyler Williams, just Mr. Everything. He handled the ball, played point—he played 1 through 4. … He made a huge three late, and he's typically guarding their better players," Engebretsen said proudly.
William Pace was a monster with 18 points and a massive 13 rebounds, including 8 offensive rebounds that led to 12 second chance points—all scored by himself. Playing through foul trouble in the second half, he tallied those numbers while playing just 25 minutes. Like Hicks, Pace was also nails from the line, making 8 of 9 free throw attempts.
"I also want to shoutout Will Pace," Engebretsen continued, "he's kind of like the lifeblood and the leadership of the program, of the team. He wasn't going to let us lose last night."
Nick Tjaden was his usual self, facilitating a team-lead 6 assists but also grabbing 8 rebounds. He also provided for himself, making both of his three-point attempts and scoring 10 points overall.
Evan David had the aforementioned important minutes off the bench, scoring 5 points, pulling down 3 rebounds, and blocking a shot. Fray Villalta-Guevara led the bench with 6 points and 4 rebounds. Robert Davies also provided 13 important minutes, playing solid defense in his short runs on the court, including a steal and 2 rebounds.
"I'd also like to mention Bobby Davies," Engebretsen said. "[Oxnard's Noah] Del Rio Sanchez had 15 at halftime and we basically didn't have an answer for him. Nobody on our team had success guarding him until we put Bobby on him midway through the second half. He didn't score on Bobby, and he took some tough shots and we had him use a lot of energy. That stretch [when Davies was guarding him] is when we kind of made a run there. … Bobby was a big part of that, just getting stops."
Each team shot similarly, with both at 42% from the field with SBCC edging Oxnard 38% to 35% from three. The huge disparities came in other areas, though, like rebounds, where the Vaqueros grabbed 47 to Oxnard's mere 28. That reflected in second chance points, where the Vaqueros scored 31 while Oxnard only had 7. Also, in a game with a significant number of fouls, SBCC made 21 of 26 free throws (81%), yet Oxnard made 12 of 21 (57%). Quite literally, those two stats were the deciding factors of the game.
"I've never had so many injuries in a season, from the beginning of the year all the way to the very end. Extremely proud of our sophomores and really proud of this group together with all of the adversity we faced this year," Engebretsen concluded.
With a young team this year, the Vaqueros look to build going into the 2024-25 season, also hoping for better health heading into Engebretsen's 4th season at the helm.
Photo credits to all images below: Zoe Neumer
