Steven Bush put up 21 points for the Ventura College men's basketball team as they downed Canada College 86-67 advancing to the championship game of the SBCC tournament. Bush was accurate from 3-point range hitting on seven of 11 attempts for his team high points. Elijah Brown added 18 points and dished out nine assists in the win.
Following their opening night win the Pirates went out for an unusual 9:00 pm start time against Canada and put together an all-around effort in the win. Ventura was able to control the game on both ends of the court and showed outstanding ball control with 16 team assists and only turning the ball over eight times in the game. VC used an accurate long range game for the second evening in a row as they hit on 43% of their 3-point attempts in the game, topped by Bush hitting on 7 of 11 attempts.
The Pirate attack was fronted by Bush and Brown, but saw three more players score in double digits for a team total of five players. Jamal Lewis scored 11 points, while Josh Watterson and Jacob Alonzo both put in 10 points for the Pirates in the win. Brown came up one assist short of the first double-double of the year for himself and for VC. Six other Pirates picked up an assist with Watterson having two as Ventura showcased their ability to distribute the basketball.
The win advanced the Pirates to a championship game match-up at 7:00 pm on Saturday Dec. 12 against tournament host Santa Barbara City College. The championship appearance will mark the second time VC has advanced to the championship game of a tournament in 2015. Ventura dropped the championship of the We Play Hard Tournament in the opening weekend they will look to bring home their first tournament of the year.