Ventura Tips Santa Barbara by Surviving Seesaw Finish

It came down to the final shot, and Teodor Russinov of Santa Barbara High failed to make it.

Russinov drove the baseline with three seconds to play Friday night, but his shot in heavy traffic hit the backboard and the side of the rim, allowing host Ventura to escape with a 65-64 Channel League victory.

The victory moved the Cougars (17-2, 9-0 in league play) two games ahead of second-place Santa Barbara (15-6, 7-2) with five to play.

“It was a hell of a ballgame,” Ventura Coach Dan Larson said.

Especially the final two minutes.

Santa Barbara, which trailed throughout most of the contest, moved ahead, 60-59, on a jump shot by John Williams, who led the Dons with 19 points.

From there, the lead changed hands five times--three times in the final 34 seconds.

A chronology:

1:54--Ventura’s Darien Roberts, who scored a game-high 20 points, made two free throws to give the Cougars a 61-60 lead.

1:17--Williams connected on another jump shot, giving Santa Barbara a 62-61 lead.

:34--Ventura center Anthony McCurtis made two free throws. Ventura led, 63-62.

:26--Williams made another jumper. Santa Barbara, 64-63.

:08--McCurtis grabbed a rebound and sank a five-foot baseline jumper. Ventura, 65-64.

Russinov, who finished with eight points but did not score in the fourth quarter, challenged a crowd beneath the basket as the clock ticked down.

McCurtis, who had six blocked shots to go with 16 points, appeared to get a hand on it. Larson said he couldn’t tell.

“I’m not sure what happened,” he said.

Neither did McCurtis.

“I didn’t know how much time was left,” said McCurtis, a 6-foot-7 junior. “I didn’t know if we’d be able to get off another shot or not.”

A dejected Russinov lay face down on the hardwood for several seconds. Several players were in tears in the Santa Barbara locker room.

“Both teams played hard,” Santa Barbara Coach Bob Purdy said. “If there had been another 10 seconds, we could have won it.

“We were a little disorganized, but I thought it was a good game.”

The Dons battled hard after falling behind, 27-17, midway through the second quarter. By that time, Roberts had eight points and appeared headed for a big game.

However, Santa Barbara closed the half with a flurry. J.J. Purdy and Williams each made two baskets to highlight a 12-4 run, and the Dons trailed, 31-29, at the half.

Purdy scored six points in the quarter.

Ventura took only five shots from the field in the last half of the second quarter.

Midway through the third quarter, Santa Barbara tied the score, 39-39. The Dons tied it twice more before taking a brief lead at 45-43.

“It would have been disappointing to lose,” Roberts said. “Part of our offense was lagging, so we had to turn it up a notch.

“But I didn’t have any doubts about us winning. We weren’t going to lose.”

In the fourth quarter, Roberts made four free throws in seven attempts. Roberts missed a three-point attempt seconds after Williams’ jump shot gave Santa Barbara a 62-61 lead, then collected his fifth foul while scrambling for the rebound.