Vaqs Get 4th Straight, Move to 5–2 on the Year

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - SBCC Men's Basketball kept its momentum rolling Tuesday night, edging Victor Valley College 64–63 in a thrilling finish at Robertson Gym. In a back-and-forth battle that featured seven separate 7–0 runs, the Vaqueros ultimately prevailed when freshman Jack Berry sank the first of two free throws with 0.7 seconds remaining.

The wild ending capped off an evening where both teams traded punches from start to finish.

SBCC jumped out to an early 17–10 lead when freshman Chase Kardosh connected on a left-wing three, fueled by the Vaqueros' trademark full-court pressure. But Victor Valley countered with pressure of its own, forcing 12 first-half turnovers and 19 for the game—the most SBCC has committed all season.

"We got that lead a little early, up seven or so in the first half, but just couldn't stretch that lead," said head coach Devin Engebretsen. "And after that, it was a dogfight the rest of the night."

After Victor Valley tied the game at 17 with a 7–0 spurt, the Vaqueros responded with a 7–0 run of their own to go up 24–17. The Rams answered again, then SBCC again, and the run-trading theme continued into the final moments of the first half. Victor Valley took a 34–32 lead with eight seconds left, but freshman point guard Brycen Matthews quickly pushed the ball up court and knocked down a mid-range floater at the buzzer, tying the game at 34.

The second half saw SBCC hold the lead for most of the period, though never by more than six points. Leading 50–44 at the 13:20 mark, the Vaqueros looked ready to create separation, but yet another 7–0 run from VVC put the Rams ahead 51–50 with 10 minutes remaining.

Dominic Bonafede answered with a wing three, and Berry then jumped a passing lane for a steal and layup to push the lead back to 55–51. Victor Valley continued to hang around, though, and after SBCC held a 63–60 edge with the ball in the final minute, a missed front end of a one-and-one opened the door.

After an initial missed three, Victor Valley guard Jaylen Contreras—who finished with 12 points and four made threes—grabbed his own rebound and drilled a long ball with four seconds left to tie the game.

Chaos followed. SBCC pushed the ball up the floor, but a clock malfunction forced officials to stop play and place the ball at the Vaqueros' backcourt sideline with one second remaining. Out of a timeout, SBCC drew up a lob to Berry, who caught the pass and got a shot up despite being fouled from underneath. He calmly hit the first free throw to put SBCC ahead 64–63.

"I think our team fought really hard to get this win," said Berry, who finished with 15 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. "During the timeout before the last play, Coach drew up a great play we've never ran before and it worked perfectly. I'm glad I made that first free throw."

Smartly, he missed the second on purpose. Berry later confirmed what many suspected—that Coach Engebretsen instructed him to miss intentionally with only 0.7 seconds left.

"I just thought if we are up one or two it doesn't really matter, because the odds are they're only going to have enough time to shoot a three," Engebretsen explained. "With Jack missing, 0.3 seconds must come off the clock per rule, so we knew they'd have a maximum of 0.4 left. And 0.4 is a lot shorter than 0.7 when trying to get off a shot."

On the ensuing play after a Victor Valley timeout, Berry sealed the win by stealing the full-court pass in midair before the buzzer sounded, giving SBCC their fourth straight victory and improving their record to 5–2. Remarkably, the Vaqueros' combined margin of victory during the streak is just 24 points, with just six points over the last three wins.

"This group is an interesting bunch," Engebretsen said. "Sometimes we get up big but let teams back in. Tonight, we never got up big but stayed the course and kept grinding. They keep showing resolve, and we love the winning!"

SBCC now heads into a well-earned Thanksgiving break before returning to action at the Monterey Peninsula Tournament, December 4–6. The Vaqueros open against hosts Monterey Peninsula at 5 p.m. on December 4.