The Ventura College men's basketball team has earned the No. 9 seed in the CCCAA SoCal Regional Playoffs and will travel to No. 8 Copper Mountain College for a 7:00 pm tip-off on Friday Feb. 23. The Pirates (21-8) are the 3-peat champions of the Western State Conference North Division while the Fighting Cacti (20-9) placed third in the Orange Empire Conference. Copper Mountain is located in the city of Joshua Tree, 200 miles east of Ventura in the Mojave Desert.
VC enters the game as winners of 11 of their past 13 games, including the last four with very little room for error in the WSC North race. The Pirates have been a staple in the post-season for decades, including six of the past seven seasons under head coach Joey Ramirez. Copper Mountain, meanwhile, is 8-7 over its past 15 games, including a 7-5 mark in conference play. The program is in its first year of existence.
On the other side of the bracket, No. 17 Palomar plays at No. 16 Long Beach on Wednesday Feb. 21, with the winner playing at No. 1 San Diego City on Saturday Feb. 24. The winners will play in the SoCal regional Finals on Saturday March 3. The CCCAA State Championships will be held at the VC Athletic Event Center on March 9-11.
See CCCAA SoCal Regional Playoff Brackets
Directions from Ventura College to Copper Mountain College in Joshua Tree