On the night of Jan. 24, the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) boys basketball team took on Santa Paula High School (Santa Paula). After falling behind by 17 points in the first half, the Dragons mounted a determined comeback, but the early deficit proved too steep, ending in a 63-71 loss.
At the start of the game, Santa Paula won the tip-off and immediately put Foothill Tech on its heels. Nick Turner ‘26 blocked a three-point attempt and burst down the court on a fast break, but his layup was denied at the rim. Santa Paula capitalized on the transition and scored the first points of the game. Zaiden Archuleta ‘27 answered quickly, driving into the lane for a smooth layup to tie the score. After a Santa Paula miss, Archuleta struck again with another uncontested layup, giving Foothill Tech its first and only lead at 4-2.
For much of the opening quarter, both teams traded baskets, but Santa Paula began to separate late, taking a 9-15 lead with under four minutes remaining. A pair of strong layups by Enzo Rivera ‘27 cut the deficit to one, yet Santa Paula responded with a surge of 12 unanswered points, seizing a 13‑point advantage as the quarter closed.
Early in the second quarter, Erik Hernandez ‘26 knocked down a three-pointer and quick layups from Rivera and Hernandez trimmed the gap to 22-26. Santa Paula, however, immediately reclaimed momentum, stringing together six fast points to push the lead back to double digits.
Midway through the quarter, Ashton Brown ‘26 attacked the key and was knocked to the floor by a defender coming over his back. Despite the hard contact, Brown calmly sank both free throws. Even after this penalty, Santa Paula continued to dictate the pace, unleashing an 11‑point run before Foothill Tech could answer. By halftime, the Dragons trailed 29-46, struggling to contain Santa Paula’s rhythm.
“We were a little disoriented in the first half, we got put down a lot, but to come back like that in the second half is great… and shows we can fight, which matters in the playoffs especially,” said Elijah Spencer ‘26
Coming back from halftime, Foothill Tech emerged from the locker room intent on shifting the tone of the game. Starting the third quarter with possession, Archuleta dribbled into the paint and hit a fadeaway jumper to spark the Dragons’ offense. Santa Paula tried to exploit Foothill Tech’s defensive rotation but missed, allowing the Dragons to control the tempo. A long outlet pass from Brown to Rivera after a turnover led to a three-point play, cutting the deficit to 34-46.
Santa Paula responded with three straight scoring possessions to extend the lead to 34-52, but Foothill Tech refused to fold. Three‑pointers from Brody Baker ‘26 and Turner, followed by a layup from Brown, brought the Dragons back within ten. Santa Paula countered once more with eight unanswered points, including two threes, widening the gap again. As the third quarter wound down, Foothill Tech continued to chip away. Baker, Brown, Archuleta and Turner each contributed key baskets, narrowing the margin to 50-60 heading into the final eight minutes.
Santa Paula opened the fourth quarter with possession and caught the Dragons off guard, scoring four quick points. Hernandez responded with a strong drive into the key to make it 52-64. Foothill Tech intensified its defensive pressure and mounted one final push, trimming the deficit to five with two minutes remaining. However, the early hole loomed large and Santa Paula held on as the buzzer confirmed a 63-71 defeat.
“I think when we found our tempo and played at our tempo, we played better than them and outscored them in the second half… it was a tale of two halves. I could not be more proud of the boys in the second half, but we need to play four quarters of basketball, not just two,” said coach Jamaal Brown.
Foothill Tech will compete again on Jan. 27 against The Cate School (Cate) at Ventura College, where they hope to bounce back from the loss.
