Big first half leads Santa Barbara past rival San Marcos in boys basketball

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - San Marcos kept leaving the backdoor open and Santa Barbara slammed it shut several times as the Dons raced out to an early lead and never was really threatened in a 63-50 rivalry win.

Tobin Shyrock found a cutting Carter Battle multiple times in the first half as Santa Barbara led 17-6 after one quarter and 35-16 at the half.

Battle scored 17 points in the game mostly by beating the Royals defense on layups.

Luke Zuffelato scored 16 of his game-high 22 points after half as the Dons improved to 8-3 in the Channel League.

San Marcos cut the Dons deficit to seven at 49-42 with five minutes left on an Andre McCullough inside basket.

But the Dons pushed the lead right back to double-digits.

The two teams meet again next Friday at San Marcos to close out the regular season.