Adrian McIntyre hit a 3-point shot with three seconds left to lift the Pirates' men's basketball team to a 77-76 victory over College of the Canyons in the championship game of the Irvine Valley Classic Friday. McIntyre, the Tournament MVP led Ventura (5-0) with 24 points, six rebounds and five steals while brother Anthony McIntyre totaled 18 points with five boards and seven assists. Stacy Johnson had 14 points off the bench for VC, who is off to its best start since the 2012-13 season.
There were four ties and a pair of lead changes in the early going with Adrian connecting on an and-one for a 7-4 Pirate lead. The Cougars then took a 9-9 tie and turned it into 16-9 advantage with 13:17 remaining in the first half. Two free shots each by Kordell Gordon, Anthony, and Caleb Geisendorfer pulled VC to within one, 16-15, but Ventura did not retake the lead. CoC then continued to expand their advantage, and the Pirates trailed 41-31 at intermission.
Canyons expanded their advantage after the half, moving it to as many as 15 points, 50-35, with 14:56 remaining in the game. The Pirate comeback started on a lay-up by Shulton Tobin, then a steal by Anthony that led to Stacy Johnson's easy deuce at the 13:06 mark. Adrian's theft and assist to Jonson closed the gap to 11, and Adrian's 3-pointer cut the deficit to eight, 54-46, with 10:23 remaining.
Johnson and Donavan Williams each hit triples, before Anthony's 3-point play made it 61-57 with 6:36 on the clock. Williams scored on a putback, Adrian drove for two, and williams hit a free throw to tie the score at 62 at the 5:10 mark, making it a whole new game.
There were five ties and four lead changes over the next four minutes, and Tobin's lay-up with 41 seconds left created the sixth tie, this time at 74. Canyons hit a pair of clutch free throws with 12 ticks on the clock to set up Adrian's heroics on the next possession, draining the three with three seconds left.
Geisendorfer made his first start for VC and pulled in six rebounds in the middle while Williams had five boards to go along with six points.
The Pirates will return home on Wednesday Nov. 17, welcoming VC Hall of Fame coach Phil Mathews and his Riverside Tigers to the Athletic Event Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 pm.