Dons, Chargers open boys hoops tourney with wins

 

December 27, 2006 12:00 AM

The 2006 Santa Barbara Holiday Classic boys basketball tournament opened Tuesday, with action in two divisions at Santa Barbara and Carpinteria high schools.

In the Gold Division, Laguna Blanca was the only county team in action as the Owls fell to Sultana 77-28. Other games had Costa Mesa beating Mira Costa 50-40, Burroughs taking down Cathedral by a 71-58 score, and Oak Park defeating East Bakersfield 61-39.

Green Division games, held at Santa Barbara, featured several county teams.

The host Dons beat Bishop Diego 58-44, Carpinteria lost 68-56 to Corona del Mar, Dos Pueblos beat West Torrance 67-61, and San Marcos lost to Pasadena 76-60. Other games had Santa Monica beating Agoura 61-47, Oxnard beating Saugus 63-47, Palisades beating Upland 64-43, and Lincoln (WA) holding off Venice 67-64.

SANTA BARBARA 58,

BISHOP DIEGO 44

The Dons came up big, as they outscored the Cardinals in each of the four quarters. Roberto Nelson led the team with 16 points, while Alex Armstrong had a strong day with 11 points, including a trio of three-pointers.

"We spread it around pretty well," said Dons head coach Chris Hantgin, who had five players score seven or more points. "It was a good win for us to start the tournament."

The Cardinals were led by 18 points from Ryan Aijian, while Jeremy Kjar added 10 points. Santa Barbara (12-1) will face Santa Monica at 7 p.m. while Bishop Diego plays Agoura at 2:30 p.m.

DOS PUEBLOS 67,

WEST TORRANCE 61

The Chargers (11-1) jumped out to a 15-9 first quarter lead and held off the Warriors in an opening round tournament game. Head coach Joe Zamora said his team had room to improve, but was pleased with their effort in their first game in front of a home crowd after spending almost all of the preseason on the road.

"We made some great decisions and had good ball handling," Zamora said. "Spencer Schulte made some big shots for us, and I was real happy with the way Ryan Beall played."

Schulte turned out to be the team's leading scorer with 21 points, while Julyan Stone had 19, along with six rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Beall had only three points, but led the team with eight rebounds and had four assists for the Chargers.

Dos Pueblos is set to play against Palisades at 8:30 p.m. and West Torrance has a matchup with Upland at 10 a.m.

PASADENA 76, SAN MARCOS 60

The Royals did their best to keep pace with the undefeated Bulldogs, trailing by only one point at the end of the first quarter, and by five at halftime. Skylar Slayman (16 points), Jeff Menzel (15) and Nick Silva (12) led the way for San Marcos, with Menzel having three three-pointers as well as 10 rebounds for a double-double.

Pasadena (10-0) was led by Nigel Ajere's 23 points and Trevon Harmon added 19 points for the Bulldogs, who play Lincoln at 4 p.m. San Marcos is set to face Venice at 1 p.m.

CORONA DEL MAR 68,

CARPINTERIA 56

Jacob Ranger scored 26 points, but the twin towers of Stefan Kaluz and Jon Joyce were too much for the Warriors.

Kaluz, standing at 6-foot-9, went for a game-high 27 points in a green division game at Santa Barbara High.

Carpinteria led 27-22 in the first half, but Corona del Mar went on a 9-0 run to end the half and never looked back.

The Warriors face Saugus today at 11:30 a.m. at Santa Barbara High. Corona del Mar will take on Oxnard at 5:30 p.m.

OXNARD 63, SAUGUS 47

Amandi Amoke had 25 points for the victorious Yellowjackets, who will play Corona del Mar today. Saugus will play versus Carpinteria at 11:30 a.m. and Oxnard will play Corona del Mar at 5:30 p.m.

PALISADES 64, UPLAND 43

Three players scored in double digits for Palisades, and they will play Dos Pueblos at 8:30 p.m. Upland will be matched at 10 a.m. against West Torrance.

SANTA MONICA 61, AGOURA 47

The Vikings emerged victorious and will play against host Santa Barbara at 7 p.m., while the Chargers will play Bishop Diego at 2:30 p.m.

LINCOLN (WA) 67, VENICE 64

Alfred Davis had 16 points and Kaleb Shelton had 14 for the winning Abes, who came to the tournament from Tacoma, Wash. Lincoln (6-1) will play undefeated Pasadena (10-0) at 4 p.m., while the Gondoliers will be matched against San Marcos at 1 p.m.

GOLD DIVISION

SULTANA 77, LAGUNA BLANCA 28

The Owls suffered their worst loss of the season in the Gold Division's opening day. Laguna Blanca closed to within 15-10 in the second period, but the Sultans pulled away with 47 points in the second and third quarters, and had four players score in double digits. Luther Tarver-Burks had 11 points to lead the Owls, who will play against Costa Mesa at 6 p.m.

COSTA MESA 50, MIRA COSTA 40

Moses Titus had 18 points to lead the way to victory for the Mustangs, who will play Laguna Blanca today at 6 p.m. Mira Costa is set to play Oak Park at 1:30 p.m.

BURBANK BURROUGHS 71,

CATHEDRAL 58

Jordan Lopez had 20 points for the victorious Indians, who will play East Bakersfield at 4:30 p.m. Henry Perez scored 20 points in a losing effort for Cathedral, who is matched up against Sultana at 3 p.m.

OAK PARK 61,

EAST BAKERSFIELD 39

Bobby Hilliard's 18 points helped lead the Eagles to the win. Michael Smith had a game-high 23 points for East Bakersfield, which will play Burbank Burroughs today at 4:30 p.m.. while Oak Park plays Mira Costa at 1:30 p.m.

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