St. Bonaventure (3-16) captured a rare win Friday night in boys basketball as the Malibu High Sharks fell to the Seraphs 61 to 57 in an always vital Tri-Valley League game.
The Sharks (11-10) got off to a slow start as the Seraphs took a 20 to 16 lead at the end of the first. Malibu bounced back with some big plays from juniors Ben Rotman and Chandler Abbott as the Sharks trailed only by two 33 to 31 at the half.
Malibu fired off coming out of the halftime break going on an 8-0 run to start of the third quarter. The Seraphs would recover from the run and tie the score up 45-45 going into the forth quarter. The Sharks started the forth strong but failed to convert down the stretch. St. Bonaventure seized the missed opportunity and held a six point lead 59 to 53 with under a minute left. This proved to be too much to overcome down the stretch. Malibu continued to fight but it was too little too late as the Seraphs captured the victory with a final score of 61 to 57.
With the loss Malibu extended their losing streak to six games with a winless record in league. The win was only the third on the season for St. Bonaventure and gave them their first in league.
Malibu was led Junior stand out Chandler Abbott who led all Malibu scorers with 22 points. Abbott was followed up by the tag team of fellow juniors Ben Rotman and Ben Apstein who combined for 24 on the night.
With three weeks left in the season the Sharks now turn their attention to league rival Carpinteria High School as they hit the road to Carpinteria California this Friday.