Lynwood falls in battle of wills with Santa Barbara, CIF-SS Division 2A championship

ANAHEIM >> It’s the one thing a coach never wants to admit after any game, let alone a CIF Southe Section championship: The deciding factor of the CIF-SS Division 2A boys basketball title game between second-seeded Lynwood and top-seeded Santa Barbara was simply who wanted it more.

Unfortunately for Lynwood, that team was Santa Barbara. The Dons outrebounded and outhustled the Knights on a consistent basis to take a 75-65 victory Saturday at Honda Center, keeping Lynwood away from the coveted championship, which would have been its first since 1976.

Santa Barbara won the rebounding battle, 50-38, including 17 offensive boards, and the Dons had 17 assists to Lynwood’s 11.

“They played harder than us,” Lynwood coach Gary Lenoir said. “Both teams fought and competed with passion, and I’m happy with my team overall.”

It was a bitter end to an otherwise stellar season for the youth-laden Lynwood squad in Lenoir’s fourth season at the helm.

The Knights finished the season with a 23-6 record, a San Gabriel Valley League championship and the school’s first appearance in a CIF championship game since the early 1990s.

Lynwood battled back in the second half after a subpar first half in which the Knights trailed 41-30 after the Dons went on a 20-0 run that over a span of seven minutes between the first and second quarters.

A three-point play by freshman Oscar Lopez and a basket from Keith Carlton cut an 11-point Santa Barbara lead to six, 61-55, with 5:52 left in the game.

Two free throws from Keith Carlton and a basket from Joe Tate cut the Lynwood deficit to one, 66-65, with 2:12 to go.

The Knights fouled Ben Clay on the ensuing possession, and Clay made both free throws, giving Santa Barbara (31-1) a three-point lead with 2:03 to go.

Carlton missed a shot on the other end, which resulted in a foul of Santa Barbara’s Nick Busch, who made both free throws, pushing the Dons’ lead to five before closing it out at the free-throw line.

“They played a great game,” Lenoir said. “They shot the ball well. We tried to get up and rattle them, but they handled it in the first half. I thought we did a better job in the second half, but I think we got going too late.”

Lopez led Lynwood with 17 points.

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