MEN'S BASKETBALL: The VC men's basketball team stayed alive in the Pepsi-Holiday Inn Tournament in Visalia with a 73-67 victory over the Porterville Pirates Saturday afternoon. Jon McMurry netted 19 points to lead Ventura (7-7) to the win while Rodney Bryant netted 11 points with eight rebounds. Ivan Dooley hit for 10 points with five assists and Najee Seabrooks came off the bench for 10 points, five boards, and five blocked shots.
The first half was back and forth for the most part with the Ventura taking an 8 point lead, 28-20 on McMurry's 3-pointer with 5:30 remaining in the period. VC took a 32-28 lead into the break, as the Pirates were paced by McMurry's eight points and Bryant's seven.
The VC Pirates locked in defensively to start the second half, holding Porterville to a single point through the first five minutes. Ventura stretched their advantage to 16 points, 52-36, midway through the period, and solid shooting from the VC backcourt, Dooley, Bryant and McMurry and high energy from Seabrooks would allow the Pirates to maintain their large lead with six minutes to play in the contest.
The Porterville Pirates did not go down without a fight, as their quickness allowed them to earn multiple trips to the foul line. Porterville scored 15 of their 39 points in the second half from the charity stripe, but VC was able to hold on down the stretch with ball security and clutch free throws.
VC will take on Contra Costa at noon on Sunday Dec. 22 in the tournament's consolation final.