MEN'S BASKETBALL: The Pirate men's basketball team kept pace in the Western State Conference race with a hard-fought 76-69 overtime victory at Allan Hancock College Saturday night. Ivan Dooley paced VC (13-11, 6-2) with 27 points and 11 rebounds while Vondel Faniel turned in a strong performance with his own double-double of 15 points and 11 boards. Jon McMurry and Jalen Young turned in 12 and 10 points respectively, as Ventura remained 1/2 game back of Cuesta for the top spot in the conference.
Dooley had the hot hand early, hitting three of his five 3-pointers in the first four minutes of the game. When McMurry hit a shot at the 14:34 point of the first half, VC held a 17-10 advantage on the Bulldogs. Hancock kept up the fight, however, and the teams jockey back and forth for the remainder of the period, with Ventura taking a 38-35 lead into halftime.
The Bulldogs scored the first two buckets of the second half, taking their first lead of the game, 39-38, two minutes in. Dooley responded with another triple and the game was on. The second half had nine ties and nine lead changes, with neither team ahead by more than four points. VC trailed 54-50 with 7:04 remaining, but a Faniel jumper gave the Pirates a 62-58 advantage three minutes later. the teams were tied 64-64 at the end of regulation time.
in the extra period, Faniel and Dooley combined for Ventura's first five points, giving VC a 69-66 lead with 2:05 on the clock. Young made a jump shot with 1:17 on the clock, and a free throw 29 seconds later to make the score 72-66. Anthony Morman and McMurry each nailed a pair of free throws down the stretch as the Pirates held on for the 76-69 victory.
Ventura will travel to Los Angeles Pierce College on Wednesday Feb. 12 before coming home for the annual barbeque fundraising game on Saturday Feb. 15 against Santa Barbara. Both games begin at 7:00 pm and can be heard live on the VC Men's Sports Network.