Vaqueros to battle Miramar in SBCC Classic opener

SBCC will make its home debut in men's basketball on Thursday in the opening round of the 43rd annual SBCC Classic.

The Vaqueros (2-6) will take on San Diego Miramar (3-5) at 7 p.m. It's the second straight year these teams have clashed in the first round. SBCC won last year's battle, 63-61 in overtime, and went on to reach the championship game, where it fell to Victor Valley 76-68.

Santa Barbara has won its tournament eight times, most recently in 2006. Ventura has four Classic titles and Oxnard three.

The Vaqueros are led by 6-1 freshman guard Tejon Williams, who's averaging 11.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists. Evan Tillman, a 6-8 freshman, averages 10.4 points and 5.0 rebounds. Robert Hutchins scored a season-high 20 in the Vaqueros' last game, a 71-68 loss to Cuesta in the consolation final of the Grossmont Invitational.

San Diego Miramar has lost two of its last three games while averaging 91.7 points. In their last appearance, the Jets fell to Southwestern 102-92 in the consolation final of the Palomar Tournament on Nov. 29. Javan Perry leads Miramar with a 16.3 scoring average.

The Classic opens on Thursday with a 3 p.m. game between Desert (3-7) and L.A. Valley (3-3), followed by Ventura (4-5) and Palomar (4-3) at 5 p.m. Oxnard (4-1) and Canada (4-3) will tangle in the late game at 9 p.m.

There are four WSC teams in the three-day tourney – SBCC, Ventura and Oxnard from the North Division and L.A. Valley from the South.

Top individuals to watch are Michael Morrissey, a 6-foot sophomore guard from L.A. Valley who's the No. 1 scorer in the state at 28.5 per game and DeSean Scott of Oxnard, a 6-6 sophomore from Arroyo Grande High. Scott is No. 9 on the state scoring list (21.9) and No. 3 in rebounding (11.2).

There will be four games on Friday with the championship semifinals at 7 and 9 p.m. Saturday's schedule starts with the consolation final at 3 p.m., the third-place game at 5 and the championship at 7 p.m.

Ticket prices are $5 for general admission, $3 for students & seniors, $2 for children under 12 and no charge for children under 5.

All SBCC games will be live streamed on the Vaquero Broadcasting Network with Ryan Graff and Steven Wellbrock on the call.