Basketball Recap: Hillcrest Christian Comes Up Short

If Hillcrest Christian was feeling good fresh off their 74-53 takedown of Portola last Friday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Hillcrest Christian Saints had to suffer through a 98-68 loss at the hands of the Santa Barbara Dons. While losing is never fun, the Saints can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 778th, while the Dons are ranked 75th).

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Santa Barbara to victory, but perhaps none more so than Luke Zuffelato, who dropped a triple-double on 16 points, ten rebounds, and ten assists. Zuffelato is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 15 or more in the last 44 games he's played dating back to last season. Diesel Lowe was another key player, going 7 of 9 on his way to 17 points and five assists.

Hillcrest Christian's loss was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 3-10. As for Santa Barbara, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 9-3 record this season.

Hillcrest Christian and Sierra Pacific will round out the year against one another at at 2:00 p.m. on Monday. Sierra Pacific knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past eight matchups -- so hopefully Hillcrest Christian likes a good challenge. As for Santa Barbara, they will take on Sierra Canyon in a tournament on Monday. Sierra Canyon will roll in looking for their fourth straight victory, something Santa Barbara surely won't give up without a fight.