Buoyed by a 20-3 run to open the second half, the Pirates' men's basketball team held on down the stretch for an 87-85 victory over No. 6-ranked San Bernardino Valley College in the semifinals of the Kirby Mannon Pepsi / Wyndham Hotel Tournament at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia Saturday. Cordel Hankerson led Ventura (9-6) for the second night in a row with 24 points while Calvin Young and Isiah Reyes chipped in 21 and 20 points, respectively.
The teams battled in close fashion throughout the first 20 minutes of play. VC took the early advantage on a three and a two from Hankerson before the Wolverines answered and took 15-11 lead with 12:31 left in the half. SBVC opened up its largest lead, 21-15, two minutes later. Hankerson halved the deficit with a 3-pointer, and Reyes netted eight of the Pirates' next 10 points as they took a 28-25 lead with 5:21 on the clock. Young hit back-to-back threes down the stretch, and Reyes scored the final five points of the half for Ventura. The Pirates led 39-35 at the break.
Ventura was red hot as the second half began, with Hankerson hitting a three ball, followed by a triple from Young and an inside bucket from Vida Faniel on their first three trips down the floor. Faniel followed with another score and VC led 49-35 at the 16:25 mark. After a pair of SBVC scores, Trevor LaCount hit an inside shot and Young nailed back-to-back shots from range. Hankerson followed with a bucket and Ventura led 59-38 with 13:40 on the clock.
San Bernardino did not go down without a fight, however, as the Wolverines began a furious comeback for the final 10 minutes of the game. The Wolverines seemed to make two shots for every one for the Pirates as they slowly chipped into the Ventura advantage. Taylor Sturgeon's dunk at the 6:48 mark made it 81-64, but the Wolverines countered with a 15-1 run over the next 2:36.
LaCount made one of two free throws, but followed with a dunk to send the advantage back to six, 85-79, with 3:37 remaining. That would be Ventura's final field goal of the game, however, as San Bernardino steadily climbed until they were down 85-84 with 1:27 remaining. After a pair of empty trips, one on each end of the floor, Reyes made one of two free throws at the 27-second mark to give the Pirates some breathing room. LaCount rebounded the ensuing SBVC shot, and was fouled, making one of two charity tosses to extend the lead to three.
SBVC looked to tie with a 3-point attempt with six seconds remaining, but their miss resulted in an offensive rebound. The Wolverine's second attempt at a game-tying field goal resulted in a Pirate foul with a single second remaining, and SBVC headed to the line for three shots. They missed the first and made the second to make it a two point game, but the Wolverines could not come up with the offensive rebound on the final toss to preserve the upset win.
Faniel led the Pirate Windex crew with nine rebounds while LaCount, Hankerson and Reyes all had four. Eddie Cowan handed out four assists in the game.
Ventura advances to the tournament final against Cerritos College. Tip-off in Visalia is scheduled for 4:00 pm.