The Pirates' men's basketball team had trouble finding a consistent shooting touch Thursday night, falling 70-58 to College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita. VC (9-9) shot under 30 percent for the game and still managed to stay within striking distance of the Cougars until the final minutes. Vida Faniel led the Pirates with 16 points and six rebounds and Calvin Young chipped in 15 points with three boards and three assists.
Ventura missed their first six shots from the floor before Faniel connected with back-to-back buckets to make it 5-4 for Canyons with 15:59 remaining in the first half. The Cougars scored the next six points before Cordel Hankerson hit from range to get the Pirates going. When Thomas Frank hit a 3-pointer halfway through the first period, Ventura led 15-14. Young hit back-to-back triples later in the half, and Frank's trey in the final minute made it 27-25 for CoC at halftime.
VC missed its first five shots of the second half before Eddie Cowan hit a jumper at the 16:43 mark. Canyons extended the lead to 10 points, 43-33 with 12:04 on the clock, but Ventura did just enough to stay in the game. Faniel scored inside and Young hit another 3-pointer, and Frank's third triple of the game pulled VC to within five points, 47-42 with 8:34 remaining. But the shooting woes proved to be too much on this night for the Pirates, as they did not get any closer. Canyons nailed nine of 10 free throws down the stretch to hold on to the 70-38 win.
Frank finished the game with nine points and four rebounds and Cowan netted eight points with three assists.
Ventura will play one final non-conference game on Wednesday Jan. 11 at Santa Monica. Tip-off against the Corsairs is scheduled for 7:00 pm.