The Pirates' men's basketball team had a balanced attack with five players scoring in double figures, outlasting visiting Oxnard 90-76 Wednesday night to claim at least a share of their second straight Western State Conference championship. Cordel Hankerson had 21 points with six rebounds, and Vida Faniel netted 16, including seven straight points during a key stretch midway through the second half to lead Ventura (16-12, 7-2) in the victory.
Oxnard held a slim lead early, holding an 11-7 advantage at the 15:46 mark of the first half. Thomas Frank hit a 3-pointer to start a 9-2 Ventura run that culminated in a lay-up by Trevor LaCount giving VC a 16-13 advantage. A Condor three at the 11:49 mark tied the game at 16 as the teams continued to battle.
Ryan Sells hit from range with 7:15 remaining in the first half to break a 24-24 tie, starting a 7-0 Pirate run that opened up some breathing room. Frank ended the run with a pair of charity tosses with 6:02 on the clock and Ventura led 31-24. Back-to-back triples brought OC back once again, and it took a 3-pointer from Hankerson and two Taylor STurgeon free throws to put Ventura ahead 43-37 at halftime.
VC scored the first four points of the second half, opening up a 47-37 lead, but Oxnard still had some game left. The Condors tied the score at 51-51 with 13:44 on the clock and led 64-63 at the 7:11 mark. Faniel nailed a triple to put the Pirates ahead for good, and Isiah Reyes followed up with an old-fashioned 3-point play to make it a five-point game. Hankerson netted three treys down the stretch as Ventura pulled away for the 90-76 victory.
Reyes totaled 14 points off the bench and Frank, in a starting role, scored 13 points. Eddie Cowan scored 10 points with four assists.
Ventura now leads second place Cuesta by one game with a game left to play. They can claim the conference title outright with a victory Saturday Feb. 18 at Santa Barbara City. Tip off is scheduled for 5:00 pm.