SANTA BARBARA HOLIDAY CLASSIC: Dos Pueblos falls in Holiday semis

DENNIS BATEMAN, NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

December 29, 2006 7:29 AM

Dos Pueblos felt the sting of the Yellowjackets early and never recovered as Oxnard prevailed 58-45 in the semifinals of the Santa Barbara Holiday Classic at Richards Gymnasium on Thursday.

Led by Omandi Amoke's 18 points, the Yellowjackets broke out to a 14-8 lead in the first quarter. The Chargers closed the gap in the second and third quarters, but Oxnard pulled away with a 17-10 fourth quarter.

Oxnard's defense focused on corralling the Chargers' Julyan Stone, who was limited in his effectiveness and scored 10 points. Dos Pueblos (12-2) was led by Sean Park, who had 16 points.

In tonight's championship game set for 8:30 p.m., the Yellowjackets will play Santa Monica, who downed previously undefeated Pasadena 48-46 in the other semifinal.

Dos Pueblos will play in the third-place game at 7 p.m. against the Bulldogs (11-1).

The tournament's Green Division play returned to Santa Barbara after power outages forced the tournament to move temporarily to Dos Pueblos High School.

SANTA BARBARA 63,

LINCOLN (WA) 53

Roberto Nelson had a relatively quiet day in the Dons' win over the team from Washington. After being red hot with a team-record nine 3-pointers in a loss to Santa Monica the previous night, Nelson was sharp from in close with 18 points. He was 10-of-11 from the free throw line, including six-for-six in the fourth quarter.

"We played some really good zone defense," said head coach Chris Hantgin. "Our balance was good, and we had three players in double figures and one more with nine."

In addition to Nelson's 18, Crosby Slaught and Cesar Soto both had 10 points each in the win. Santa Barbara will play Palisades at 4 p.m. in the fifth-place game.

SAN MARCOS 66, BISHOP DIEGO 49

The Royals earned the right to play in the tournament's consolation championship by putting away the Cardinals in the second half. Leading 37-31, Bishop was held to only 18 points after halftime.

"It was key for us to limit them in the last two quarters," said San Marcos head coach Jarrod Bradley. "We got a run going in the first half, and we got it going again later."

Jeff Menzel's 14 points led the team, while Scott Moll added a spark with 10 points. Bradley added that Moll showed great energy, along with Scott Graham, who hit a pair of 3-pointers coming off the bench in the second quarter.

Ryan Aijian had 19 points before fouling out, and Scott Winnewisser added 15 for the Cardinals, who will play against Upland at 2 p.m. in the 11th place matchup at Carpinteria High. San Marcos plays Saugus in the consolation title game at 1 p.m. at Santa Barbara.

WEST TORRANCE 71,

CARPINTERIA 60

Carpinteria trailed only 38-35 at halftime, but West Torrance took charge with a 22-point third quarter.

Carpinteria's Jacob Ranger had 33 points and drew nine fouls that sent him to the free-throw line, where he was 16-for-18. After three days, Ranger is the leading scorer in the tournament.

Carpinteria is set to play against Agoura in the 15th-place matchup, which they will play on their home court. West Torrance will play Venice at 10 a.m. at Santa Barbara.

In other Green Division games:

SAUGUS 46, UPLAND 45

The Centurions topped the Highlanders, as D.J. Smith scored 13 points and Mario Wright added 11. Upland got 13 points from Shavaun Dukes in the loss, and the Highlanders will face Bishop Diego in a game at 2 p.m. at Carpinteria High.

SANTA MONICA 48, PASADENA 46

Ari Feldman's 19 points led the way for the Vikings, who handed the Bulldogs their first loss of the season. Leo Arnold added 10 points for Santa Monica.

Pasadena was led by Trevon Harmon's 15 points, while Nigel Ajere came up with 14 points for the Bulldogs.

GOLD DIVISION

EAST BAKERSFIELD 65,

LAGUNA BLANCA 41

The Owls executed some of their best play of the year, but faded in the fourth quarter. Down 43-38 with six minutes to go, Laguna Blanca was outscored 22-3 the rest of the way.

"We played our best 26 minutes of the season," said head coach Eric Burkhardt.

Luther Tarver-Burks led the Owls with 11 points and three steals.