Vaqueros Outlast College of the Desert to Win First Game of SBCC Classic

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Julian Hicks scored 23 points, shooting 9-for-11 from the floor, to lead Santa Barbara City College to a 78-76 victory over the College of the Desert Roadrunners. 

Nick Tjaden added 11 points and 11 assists for the Vaqueros, while Kyle Haughy added a full stat line with 19 points, 10 rebounds (3 offensive), three blocks, two steals and an assist. Finn Whipps paced the bench with four points and nine rebounds.

"I have to give a shoutout to Nick Tjaden. He only had two turnovers, but they were both big late in the game," head coach Devin Engebretsen said. "Desert scored on both of them, and one was with less than a minute left when we had a one-point lead. To Nick's credit—this is why we love the guy—he came down, told me he was going to make up for it, and he did."

Santa Barbara jumped out to an early lead as Hicks hit a pair of three-pointers and made all six of his shots from the field in the first half. Heading into halftime, Santa Barbara held a 42-26 lead. 

The Roadrunners staged a comeback to make it close in the final seconds of the game, thanks in part to hitting 7-of-10 three-point shots in the second half.

"Us not getting shots and turning it over hurt us in the second half, and Desert took advantage of that," Engebretsen said.

Jayden Creavalle led the College of the Desert attack with 27 points, including a perfect 5-for-5 from beyond the arc.

"You've got to give Desert credit in the second half," Engebretsen said. "They picked up their man-to-man pressure, picked us up full court, and turned us over 11 times in the second half… and then they scored 26 points off our turnovers for the game."

The win means the Vaqueros will take on Oxnard College at 5 p.m. on Fri., Dec. 13, in the Sports Pavilion on the second day of the 2024 SBCC Basketball Classic.

Looking ahead to the next game, Engebretsen said, "We're looking forward to tomorrow. Oxnard is a really good opponent, a conference opponent. They can really score the basketball and we're going to have our work cut out for us in order to hopefully get into the championship game."

Results from the first day of the Classic: