Luke Zuffelato banks in a 3-pointer at the buzzer as Santa Barbara stuns powerhouse Sierra Canyon
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The Dons stunning win over Sierra Canyon was good to the last shot!
Luke Zuffelato banked in a running three-pointer at the buzzer to give Santa Barbara a 75-74 upset victory over the Trailblazers on the final day of the SB Holiday Classic.
Sierra Canyon took a 74-72 lead on an acrobatic layup by Gavin Hightower with just 2.8 seconds left.
The Dons called a timeout to set up their play called 'Duke' named after the famous last second miracle finish by the Blue Devils to reach the NCAA Final Four in 1992.
The Dons version had their football player and backup quarterback DJ Wilson inbound the ball.
He threw a three-quarter length of the court pass to Zuffelato who caught it, took one dribble and off one leg he let the ball fly over Bryce Cofield and the rest is history.
"I mean it's a Christian Laettner, Duke moment," smiled Zuffelato. "I knew it was going to be a hard on the line shot so I aimed for the backboard, so I just threw it up and it went in."
The dramatic shot set off a wild celebration at JR Richards Gymnasium.
"It's amazing to play against this high level talent and all of these people and all of these fans showing up it's amazing," said Zuffelato who finished with a game-high 31 points.
Luke's dad Greg Zuffelato is the Dons head coach and he called it an historic win for the Dons program.
"This is a very good team and I knew we would have some special moments and this is a pretty big one," smiled the coach.
Watching his son win the game made it that more special.
"It's going to be memorable for a lifetime because you know it's your son."
The Dons proved right away they belonged on the same court with the star-studded roster of Sierra Canyon which includes Lebron James' son Bryce James.
Santa Barbara senior point guard Diesel Lowe scored his team's first 9 points and the Dons led 16-12 after the first quarter.
(Diesel Lowe got the Dons off to a fast start against Sierra Canyon). (Entenza Design).
James scored all 9 of his points in the second quarter as he made three 3-pointers as Sierra Canyon grabbed a lead before the Dons surged back in front leading 37-36 at halftime.
Santa Barbara went up 52-44 midway in the third quarter but the visiting Trailblazers went on a 12-0 run and led 62-58 after three quarters.
The fourth quarter was tight all the way and Sierra Canyon led 71-67 with under 25 seconds left.
But Lowe drilled a 3-pointer with 20.1 seconds to go to bring the Dons within one.
He had 18 points while Carter Battle added 14 for the Dons who improved to 10-3 on the year.
Zuffelato made 6 three-pointers in the game, the last one was the finishing touch on an unforgettable moment.
