Cuesta takes down Vaqueros with triples

Cuesta went 3-crazy on Saturday night, knocking down 14-of-32 from distance in a 95-54 men's basketball win at SBCC.

The Cougars outscored the Vaqueros 42-6 from the 3-point stripe.

Cuesta (13-14, 3-3 WSC North) hit 9-17 from long distance in the first half when they closed on a 17-7 run to take a 44-32 lead. They opened the second half on a 21-2 burst and stretched the lead to 29 points (65-34) on a breakaway layup by Nic Gabsch with 11:41 to play.

Gabsch scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Iker Cruz hit 4-5 from downtown in the first half and finished with 16 points.

Francisco Gutierrez scored 12 for the Vaqueros, who shot 47.1 percent but only hit 2-14 from long range and 4-7 on free throws. Cuesta made 17-29 free throws and outrebounded the Vaqueros 41-22, including 20-8 at the offensive end.

Drayten Howell added 11 points and six assists for SBCC (1-18, 0-6). Ryan Smith had 11 points and a season-high nine rebounds (six offensive).

The Vaqueros hung close for most of the first half. Noah Garmin spun around a defender and laid the ball in to cut the deficit to 27-25 with 4:42 to go. Noah Saunders made a layup at the other end, igniting a 15-4 Cougar run that stretched the lead to 13 (42-29).

"They shot the ball extremely well in the first half," said SBCC coach Morris Hodges. "They're a really good shooting team. The things that hurt us tonight were their offensive rebounds and our second-half turnovers (12)."

Donald Grant had eight points and five rebounds before fouling out with 11:14 to play.

Rodrigo Majarin hit 4-8 from downtown and added 15 points off the Cuesta bench.

The Vaqueros will host Oxnard on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. on Coaches vs. Cancer Night.