Furious 4th quarter comeback falls short as Santa Barbara loses CIF-State Playoff opener

SAN MARCOS, Calif. - Santa Barbara standout junior Luke Zuffelato banked in a three-pointer with under a minute to play to bring the Dons to within one point but they could not complete the comeback in a 85-81 loss at San Marcos of San Diego in a CIF-State Division 3 Round 1 game.

Santa Barbara trailed by 13 points midway through the fourth quarter before Zuffelato and company rallied.

Zuffelato made five of his eight 3-pointers in a furious fourth quarter as he tied his own single-game school-record of 46 points.

DJ Wilson also hit a big three-pointer to pull the Dons within 3 with under two minutes left.

Santa Barbara led 33-30 at the half but entered the fourth quarter down 66-55.

Zuffelato who has a scholarship offer from UCSB, set the Dons single-season points record finishing the year with 885 points passing former Gaucho Paul Johnson who played at Santa Barbara High School in the late 1980's.

The Dons finish a terrific season with a record of 24-9.