The Pirates' men's basketball team trailed a hot-shooting Cuesta team by as many as 15 points midway through the second half before staging a strong comeback with a chance to tie in the final seconds before falling 75-70 Wednesday evening at the Athletic Event Center. Vida Faniel continued his strong play with 27 points while Calvin Young and Cordel Hankerson each had 13 points for VC (10-11, 1-1).
Ventura got off to a good start with a long deuce from Hankerson and an inside bucket by Faniel assisted by Eddie Cowan as VC led 4-0 early. Hankerson followed with back-to-back buckets, Faniel scored inside and Young had a basket off the drive, but four quick 3-pointers from the Cougars put Cuesta ahead 16-12 at the 15:22 mark of the first half. Faniel hit a couple of inside shots to tie the score at 16, and the game remained close throughout most of the first half.
A Trevor LaCount putback and a Thomas Frank three-ball tied the game at 23, and Frank hit two more shots from range to put Ventura ahead 33-32 at the 5:45 mark. VC went cold offensively at that point, allowing the Cougars to take a 46-40 advantage into the break.
Cuesta slowly stretched their lead to 15 points midway through the second half before the Pirates made their valiant comeback. Young was fouled on a bucket, cutting the lead to 64-55 with 8:14 remaining, and then hit a big triple to pull VC to within 66-60 with 6:30 on the clock. Faniel then converted two charity shots, and Hankerson had a 3-pointer to pull Vc to within one, 66-65 at the 4:18 mark.
The Cougars responded with five straight points to make it a 71-65 game before Young splashed a triple with 29 seconds on the clock to pull Ventura to 73-70. After a Ventura foul, Cuesta then missed both free throws giving the Pirates a chance to tie at the end. But even with two good looks at the rim, the Pirates could not get the equalizer to fall and were forced to foul in the closing seconds. Cuesta hit two free throws to make the final margin 75-70.
Ventura returns to the court Saturday Jan. 21 against cross-county rival Moorpark. Tip-off at the Athletic Event Center is scheduled for 5:00 pm.