VC sophomore Jacob Alonzo gave the Pirates' men's basketball team a spark in the first half, and sophomore Isiah Reyes finished the job as Ventura defeated LA Valley 73-59 Friday afternoon in the consolation semifinals of the We Play Hard Tip-Off Tournament. Alonzo scored 22 points, 16 in the first half, and Reyes netted a game-high 27 points, 22 in the second half, to lead the Pirates (1-1). VC advances to play Pasadena in the consolation finals Saturday at 12:00 pm at the Athletic Event Center.
The Pirates got off to a slow start, hitting just three field goals, all lay-ups, in the first 13 minutes of play. The Monarchs led 17-8 with 9:36 left in the first half, and that score remained until Alonzo had a steal and lay-up at the 7:33 mark. Malcolm Ruff followed with a pair of free throws on the next possession, and Alonzo answered an LA Valley score with a made jumper with 6:43 on the clock. Isaac Ramirez nailed a 3-pointer from a Reyes assist a minute later to pull VC to within 18-17.
Reyes drove the paint for a lay-up with 4:00 left in the period to give Ventura its first lead of the game, 19-18, but LAVC answered with a 9-2 run to reestablish control 27-21 with 2:17 on the clock.
Alonzo took over at that point, raining in two triples and a lay-up to give the Pirates a 29-27 edge in the final minute of the half. The Monarchs hit a pair of charity shots with :06 on the clock to take the teams to halftime tied at 29.
The teams played even to begin the second half, with John Williams hitting a free throw to tie the score at 41-41 with 15:14 left in the game. Williams hit a jumper on the next possession, and that was followed by an Alonzo trey from a Reyes helper. Williams completed the 8-0 run as VC went ahead 48-41 at the 13:35 mark.
Valley pulled to within 50-47 two minutes later, but Reyes, Williams and Ruff each scored inside to extend the Pirate lead to nine points, 56-47.
The Monarchs had one more run in them, rather a 3-pointer, to cut the lead to six, 56-50 with 8:00 left in the game, but that would be their last gasp.
Reyes responded with a strong drive for a lay-up, and then assisted another Alonzo 3-pointer. Reyes then hit a free throw, and Stephen Ntui assisted a Ramirez triple as the Pirates pulled away, 65-50, with 5:50 on the clock.
Reyes hit two triples and a pair of free throws down the stretch as VC posted the 73-59 victory.
Reyes netted 27 points with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals while Alonzo finished with 22 points, five steals, four boards and two helpers. Williams contributed eight points with three steals and Ramirez had six points and five rebounds. Ruff pulled down five caroms.
Other tournament scores Friday included Pasadena over Moorpark, 62-56, Riverside over Antelope Valley 72-67, and Orange Coast over Palomar 87-85.
Ventura will play Saturday at 12:00 pm in the tournament's consolation final against Pasadena. The game can be seen live on the VC Sports Network.