MEN'S BASKETBALL: Continuing to fight for the defense of their Western State Conference title, the Ventura College men's basketball team held off Los Angeles Pierce 81-74 Wednesday night in Woodland Hills. Jon McMurry had a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead the effort while Jalen Young knocked in 22 points with a team-high six assists. With the victory, the Pirates (14-11, 7-2) keep pace a half game behind Cuesta (8-2) for the top spot in the conference.
The Pirates got off to another hot start behind strong guard play, jumping the Brahmas 12-2 in the game's opening minutes. Ventura knocked down open shots and held Pierce to only one shot each time down the floor. The Pirates furious start allowed them to take a 42-25 lead into the break. McMurry led the charge with 14 points, including three 3-pointers, and young netted nine. Ivan Dooley chipped in seven in the first period.
The Brahmas, playing without their head coach, who had been ejected late in the first half, came back strong in the final 20 minutes. Pierce put together a quick 5-0 spurt to cut the lead to 12 points in the first two minutes the half. LAPC continued to claw their way back into the contest, getting the Pirate advantage down to two points with nearly seven minutes left to play. Big offensive rebounds from Dooley and Anthony Morman were crucial down the stretch, as were big shots from Young and McMurry. VC was too strong on this night, holding off Pierce for the win.
In addition to McMurry and Young, VC received a strong 14-point, seven-rebound effort from Morman. Dooley just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine boards while Vondel Faniel had nine points and eight rebounds.
Ventura comes home for the annual barbeque fundraising game on Saturday Feb. 15 against Santa Barbara. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 pm and can be heard live on the VC Men's Sports Network.