It was a tale of two halves Saturday as Moorpark visited the Athletic Event Center Saturday in the Pirates' season finale. VC came out strong, building a 41-24 halftime advantage before the Raiders came storming back in the second half to tie the game. Two big threes by Ventura forced two overtime periods, after which the Raiders prevailed 92-90.
The Pirates came out of the gate on fire, shooting well from all over the floor. They shot nearly 50 percent from the field and 52 percent from three point range in the first 20 minutes to take the 17-point halftime advantage.
Ventura's strong effort continued early in the second period as they stretched their lead to as many as 24 points. Moorpark then seemed to wake up. and the Pirates did not help their cause as they were plagued by turnovers, missed easy buckets, missed opportunities at the foul line. VC fell behind by three points with under ten seconds to play before a last second heave from Robert Hunt banked in to force the game's first overtime, 75-75.
The first extra period was a defensive stalemate, with a combined 12 points from both teams. Once again a late three from Hunt kept the Pirates alive with the score knotted at 81-81 after five extra minutes of basketball.
Both teams dug deep for the final five minutes of the second overtime, and a few missed chances here and there for the Pirates allowed for the Raiders to squeak by with 92-90 victory.
Steven Bush led all scorers with 24 points, Jalon Wilson added 15 points to go with his 10 assists. Hunt finished with 14 while Toure Atwater and Eric Davis each added 10. In his last game as a Pirate, Vondel Faniel did what he's done well for the last two years, rebound. He led all rebounders with 12 boards despite fouling out in regulation.
As a team the Pirates once again won the rebounding battle, 54-52. Davis pitched in 10 boards while Atwater added nine. Chris Thompson finished with eight.
Ball control hurt the Pirates as late turnovers allowed Moorpark to creep back into the contest. Ventura committed 26 in the contest compared to Moorpark's 15.