A second half comeback fell short for the VC men's basketball team as they lost in the semifinals of the We Play Hard Tournament 67-64 to visiting Palomar College. Ventura (1-1) trailed 32-26 at halftime and by as many as 11 points in the second half before coming back to hold a five point advantage late. They were unable to sustain the margin, however, as the Comets came back to advance to the tournament title game. Isiah Reyes led VC with 12 points and Vida Faniel netted 10 with six rebounds.
Isaac Ramirez helped lead the early charge for the Pirates with a pair of 3-pointers to put VC ahead 13-7 with 14:39 remaining in the first half. The Comets came back to take a 14-13 lead at the 10:17 mark, but Ventura had an answer. Ramirez's third triple made it 21-16 at the 6:37 mark, but a 6-0 Palomar run eliminated the VC advantage. Eddie Cowan connected on a lay-up to end the run and regain the lead 23-22, but the Comets scored the next nine points before Faniel closed the half out with a trey. Neither team scored in the final 2:40 of the period and Palomar led at halftime 32-26.
The Pirates' deficit ballooned to double figures on three occasions early on the the second half, maxing out at 11 with Palomar leading 39-28 at the 18:19 mark, and 52-41 with 11:50 remaining to play.
Trailing 56-46 with 9:36 left, the Pirates went on a 17-2 run over the next 5:33 to take a 63-58 lead with 4:03 on the clock. Calvin Young started the run with a jumper, followed by two charity tosses from Reyes. Cowan connected on two free throws and Trevor LaCount had a thunderous alley-oop dunk with an assist by Cowan at the 8:15 mark.
Thomas Frank connected on a lay-up, then hit one of two free throws to bring the Pirates to within 58-57 with 6:46 left to play. LaCount hit a follow shot to put VC ahead 59-58 with 6:01 remaining, a bucket that would be the Pirates' final field goal of the game.
Ventura maxed out its lead at 63-58 with a Reyes free throw with 4:03 remaining before the Comets closed the game on a 9-1 run.
Ramirez ended the game with nine points and LaCount had seven points with a game-high 11 rebounds. Cowan handed out five assists in the loss.
Ventura will move to the third-place game on the final day of the tournament. They will host Antelope Valley at 5:00 pm in the Athletic Event Center.