Juilland-Johnson helps Vaqueros rally for first win, 71-64

Adrian Juilland-Johnson sparked a 13-3 game-ending rally on Saturday as SBCC recorded its first men's basketball win of the season with a 71-64 decision over Oxnard in the seventh-place game of the SBCC Classic.

Juilland-Johnson, a 6-3 freshman from Redwood City, had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. After Luis Nunes put Oxnard up 64-62 on a 3-pointer with 2:44 to play, Juilland-Johnson scored five points and Carlos Arevalo hit two free throws to give Santa Barbara a 69-64 advantage with 24.5 seconds left.

Juilland-Johnson made a key steal at midcourt and scored a breakaway layup to make it 68-64 with 0:50 on the clock. The Vaqueros, who've lost five games by five or less, are 1-11 while their WSC rival Oxnard fell to 1-8.

"It's been a long time coming," said Juilland-Johnson. "We've been working hard all season and this is what we've been working for. Hopefully, this can lead to a lot more wins.

"We played a lot better as a team and a lot better on defense. I know I need to produce and if I bring energy, I know it will bring everyone else energy."

Arevalo and Nicholas Muerzl both scored a season-high 12 points with Arevalo grabbing a season-best seven boards and making 4-4 from the free-throw line. Muerzl was 6-6 from the charity stripe as the Vaqueros made 14-of-19 in the second half.

SBCC dominated the boards, 51-31, and outshot the Condors 40.4% to 34.3%. The Vaqueros were 5-17 from 3-point range and the Condors were 9-40. Zion Speller led the Condors with 19 points, four rebounds and four steals in 23 minutes off the bench.

Joseph Holden added nine points and five rebounds for the Vaqueros, hitting 3-7 from downtown.

"We played with a lot of energy, our passion was there and the guys were really playing for each other," said Vaquero coach Morris Hodges. "We did a great job of shooting free throws down the stretch."

The Vaqueros closed the first half on an 11-2 burst and took a 33-32 halftime lead on a 3-pointer from the right corner by Keegan McDougal. Peterson Wotkyns, a freshman from Jackson, wyoming, scored all eight of his points in the first half and McDougal added five.

"It feels good to get our first win but I'm really happy for the players because they've been working hard and have been close to winning a number of times," said Hodges. "We kept our turnovers to 14 today and that's going in the right direction."

The Vaqueros will take a three-week break for the holiday season, then play in the Western State Classic on Jan. 3-4 at Bakersfield against the Renegades and Glendale.

L.A. Valley outlasted Long Beach 88-87 in overtime to win the championship. Michah Cooper was named MVP.

SBCC Classic
  7th-place: SBCC 71, Oxnard 64
  Consolation: Bakersfield 84, Porterville 61
  3rd-place: Pasadena 97, Golden West 77
  Championship: L.A. Valley 88, Long Beach 87, OT

All-Tournament Team
 MVP -- Micah Cooper, L.A. Valley
 Greg Chew Jr., L.A. Valley
 Kester Ofoegbu, Long Beach
 Jace Bass, Long Beach
 Rasheet Wilson, Pasadena
 Tyrell Coleman, Bakersfield