It was a moment frozen in time, the ball descending toward the basket as the clock showed 0:00. Stop it right there. Why not end it like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the title characters still alive in the final frame? If that ball stayed in the air, most of the people who packed the Santa Barbara High gym would be granted their fondest wish: that the Dons’ basketball season would magically go on forever.
This team captivated the community. After winning a league championship, the Dons streaked through the CIF Southern Section play-offs, capturing a title for the first time in 25 years (75-65 over Lynwood in the 2A Division final) and then beginning the state tournament with a rambunctious 102-68 victory over Selma. A spectator gushed, “This is more fun than an NBA game.”
The second round last Saturday brought the Bonita Bearcats to J.R. Richards Gym, where a long line formed at the entrance 40 minutes before the tip-off. The crowd included resident celebrities Don Johnson and Billy Baldwin. They came hoping to see the Dons, 32-1, extend their school-record 28-game winning streak. (The 1970 team, led by Hall of Famer Jamaal Wilkes and Don Ford, another future NBA player, went 26-0 before losing in the CIF semifinals.)