The action will be nonstop at the Santa Barbara Holiday Classic boys basketball tournament, as 16 teams each play four games in five days starting Friday, Dec. 27 (Sunday is a day off) at SB High’s J.R. Richards Gym. There will be eight games a day from 9 am to 9 pm.
The host Dons, 8-1 so far this season, have a shot at being the last team standing on New Year’s Eve. They open up against Laguna Hills at 7:30 pm Friday. Bishop Diego faces Flintridge Prep at 6 pm, and Carpinteria gets the tournament underway against Hueneme at 9 am. Chatsworth and Camarillo, two of the stronger teams, have a first-round showdown at 4:30 pm.
UCSB will host a women’s basketball game against Seattle University at the Thunderdome on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 28. The Gauchos are trying to stem a four-game losing streak. Clair Watkins, a 6’4” graduate student who previously played at Vanderbilt, should help. She just became eligible to play for the Gauchos a week ago.