MEN'S BASKETBALL: Sophomore Jon McMurry had another strong outing with 17 points and eight rebounds to lead the Pirates to a 60-49 win at Santa Barbara City College Wednesday night. Vondel Faniel added 14 points and Jalen Young chipped in 11 as VC (10-10, 3-1) climbed back to the .500 mark with their third straight conference victory. VC also moved to within half of a game of first place Cuesta (4-1), who lost to Canyons (3-1) on Wednesday. VC, Moorpark (3-1), Cuesta and Canyons all are within one half game of first place.
McMurry's 3-pointer put the Pirates ahead 8-2 early, and Faniel finished in the paint to make the score 12-4 at the 12:20 mark of the first half. Ivan Dooley nailed a 3-pointer with 4:19 on the clock to make the VC advantage nine points, 23-14, and Ventura held a 29-21 lead at halftime.
The game remained in the 8-10 point range throughout the second half, with a McMurry trey pushing the lead to double-digits, 42-32, with 7:40 remaining in the contest. Another triple from McMurry a minute later pushed the Pirates out to a 13-point margin, and VC was solid at the foul line down the stretch for the 60-49 win.
VC will travel to Canyons on Saturday Jan. 25 for a first-place showdown while Cuesta battles Moorpark on Saturday, as well. The Pirates' game can be heard live online on the VC Men's Sports Network wit the tip off scheduled for 5:00 pm in Valencia.