Bakersfield put together a 17-2 run early in the first half and a 14-4 burst to open the second half on the way to a 73-57 men's basketball win over SBCC on Friday night in the semifinals of the 45th annual SBCC Classic.
The Vaqueros (2-7) jumped ahead 7-2 on three straight layups, including two by Taylor Burns, before the Renegades (6-4) caught fire and went on their 17-2 run. Randy Castillo capped the outburst with a 3-pointer that made it 19-9 with 11:44 to play.
Zeke McMurtry led Santa Barbara with 13 points and nine rebounds. The 6-5 freshman from Baton Rouge, La., is averaging 15.0 points and 12.4 rebounds with at least nine boards in every game. Kile Kleiner added 11 points but he was just 1-9 from 3-point range. The Vaqueros made 3-of-15 from long distance and Bakersfield hit only 3-24.
Jaylen Jackson added seven points, four rebounds and three steals.
The Vaqueros committed 19 of their 24 turnovers in the first half and Bakersfield took a 37-30 lead into the locker room.
"Those 19 turnovers led to 20 points," noted SBCC coach Morris Hodges. "In the second half, they really hurt us on the offensive boards. And we didn't move the ball well enough on offense. It was like all-or-nothing off the first penetration."
Bakersfield outshot the Vaqueros 37.9 to 35.7% and won the board battle, 50-33, with 22 offensive rebounds.
Shahadah Camp topped the Renegades with 19 points and seven rebounds while Jeffrey Lee had 18 off the bench.
Santa Barbara closed the first half on a 13-4 run to pull within seven, 37-30. Then Bakersfield posted 14 of the next 18 points and pushed the lead to 17 (51-34) on a breakaway layup by Marcus Jones and three free throws by Camp.
L.A. Trade Tech (7-2) won its seventh straight game, knocking off Canyons 78-65 in Friday's late game
The Vaqueros will take on Canyons (5-6) in the third-place game on Saturday at 5 p.m.
Bakersfield advances to the Classic title game for the second time in three years (last year's Classic was cancelled by the fire and Montecito mudslides). The Renegades will meet L.A. Trade Tech for the championship on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Earlier in the day, Desert edged Oxnard 90-87 and L.A. Valley topped Compton 76-64.
Desert and L.A. Valley will battle for the consolation crown at 3 p.m., following the seventh-place game between Oxnard and Compton at 1 p.m.
