Breakers did it again
The Santa Barbara Breakers survived to win their fourth West Coast Pro Basketball League Championship on Saturday, May 19. Santa Barbara overcome a 5-point deficit entering the final quarter of play to beat the Santa Monica Jump 118-109 to take home the trophy. It was Santa Barbara’s fourth WCBL championship in five years, but Santa Monica put the pressure on in crunch time. The Jump ended the third quarter and began the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run, putting Santa Barbara in a seven-point hole early in the final period. With the game on the line, Stan Fletcher (6’4”-G-80, college: Moorpark CC) stepped up and tallied five consecutive points to get his team back into the game. Fletcher finished with 17 points on 7-9 shooting, with 10 points in the fourth quarter.
Just minutes later, Breakers guard Tim Taylor knocked down a 3 to tie the game at 92. Fletcher followed up with a basket to give Santa Barbara its first lead of the final quarter. But Santa Monica wasnt going down easily. With just six minutes remaining, forward Tyquan Brown (6’7”-F, college: Cal Poly Pomona) completed a three point play to retake the lead, 101-100. The Jumps lead was short-lived, though, as Breakers point guard Chris Reaves (6’3”-G-84, college: Chaminade) and Fletcher hit back to back 3s. Reeves, who was playing in his first game with Santa Barbara this season, then completed a three-point play with two minutes remaining to put the Breakers up 111-104 and ensure victory. Santa Barbara finishes the season with a 9-1 record.
Reeves led all scorers with 33 points, but balanced scoring was actually the key for the Breakers. Besides Reeves and Fletcher, Greg Somogyi (7’3”-C-89, college: UCSB) tallied a double-double with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 8 blocks. Guard D’Andre Bell (6’6”-G/F-87, college: Georgia Tech) led the Jump offensively with 24 points and four assists. Tyquan Brown finished with 22 points, six boards and three blocks. After it’s all said and done, Santa Barbara walks away with the trophy looking ahead to future tournaments, next season and possibly some professional careers for several of the Breakers players.