Zeke McMurtry recorded his fifth double-double on Thursday but it wasn't enough as Santa Ana topped SBCC 82-56 in the opening round of the L.A. Southwest Intensity Classic.
McMurtry had a double-double by halftime (10 points, 11 rebounds) and finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds. He got his fifth double-double in 10 games and missed his season high by three points.
Kile Kleiner scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half. Michael Green added eight points for SBCC while Piers Donald had eight rebounds, five points and three blocks. Joseph Holden had five points and six assists.
The Vaqueros (2-9) made just 33.3% in the first half and missed all seven of their 3-point attempts. The Dons (4-5) led 41-22 at intermission. Jared Springer and Chris Bailey scored 14 apiece for Santa Ana.
Santa Ana outshot the Vaqueros 47.9% to 42.9% and only committed 10 turnovers. The Vaqueros only made 11-27 from the free-throw line (40.7%) and had 23 turnovers, leading to 30 points.
The Dons opened the second half on a 17-8 spurt and took their largest lead (58-30) on a layup by Ramon Lopez with 15:38 to play.
Santa Barbara will play the host school, L.A. Southwest, on Friday at 7 p.m. in the six-team, round-robin tourney.
