San Marcos punches playoff ticket with wire-to-wire win over Dons in boys basketball

SANTA BARBARA, Calif- With a playoff spot on the line for San Marcos the Royals raced out to a 9-0 start and held off a furious rally to beat rival Santa Barbara 61-50.

With the victory the Royals claim the fourth and final automatic playoff berth out of the competitive Channel League.

The Dons had already locked up a trip to the postseason and finish third in league behind Buena and Channel League champion Oxnard.

Wyatt Miller scored a team high 15 points while Joe Pasternack added 12 points.

San Marcos led 17-5 after the first quarter and 42-21 at the half.

The Royals entered the fourth quarter leading 51-34 but the Dons cut into the deficit behind three 3-pointers from sophomore star Luke Zuffelato who scored a game-high 25 points.

Tobin Shyrock drilled a 3-pointer with 1 minute to go to bring the Dons within 55-50 but that's as close it would get as the Royals closed the game on a 6-0 run.

The students stormed the floor and celebrated a win over the Dons and a trip to the playoffs.

The playoff pairings are released on Sunday by the CIF-Southern Section.