Elijah Brown was named MVP of the SBCC Classic with his 21 points, seven rebound, three assist and two steal performance as the Pirates downed the Vaqueros 80-71. The win capped the Pirates first tournament title of the season. Brown scored in double digits in each of the three VC wins. Three Ventura players scored in double digits.
After wrapping up their semi-final win less than 24 hours earlier, Ventura (7-5) returned to the court at Santa Barbara City College to face the host Vaqueros with the tournament title on the line. VC trailed early in the first half 9-4 but eventually went on a run to take the advantage at 13-12 with 11:10 to go in the first half. Falling behind 21-19 at the 7:44 mark Ventura scored 10 of the next 12 points in the game to go up 29-23 and never again relinquished the margin to SBCC. Going into half time with a 41-31 advantage despite their struggles shooting in the first half the Pirates were solid on the offensive boards and aggressive on the defensive end forcing six steals to hold the Vaqueros at bay.
Ventura came out strong early in the second half to push their advantage to 53-36 at the 13:24 mark and Ventura held a double digit advantage for most of the second half of play. SBCC attempted to rally late in the game cutting the margin to under 10 points for the first time all second half at the 1:15 mark on a three, but the seven point margin was the closest the Vaqueros were able to get to the Pirates, who eventually claimed the 80-71 victory and the tournament title.
Elijah Brown who showcased a variety of different talents in the tournament from scoring to rebounding and even dishing out assists in route to being named the tournament MVP, but he was not the only Pirate to garner honors. Steven Bush who scored in double digits each of the first two games and put up eight in the title game was named to the all-tournament team.
Jacob Alonzo who missed the first game of the tournament put up 12 points in the title game while Jalon Wilson scored in double digits for the first time all season as he scored 10 points in the win while adding two assists. Josh Watterson added nine points and three separate Pirates put up eight points with Jamal Lewis and Trevor LaCount joining Bush at that mark. Ventura for the second straight game showed outstanding ball control with more assists as a team than turnovers in knocking off SBCC.
Ventura will travel to College of the Sequoias on Dec. 18,19 and 20 to take part in the Kirby Mannon Pepsi/Wyndham Hotel Tournament. The Pirates will open on friday Dec. 18 with a 6:00 pm match up versus El Camino College.