The VC men's basketball dropped a 72-68 decision to Cerritos in the first round of the Irvine Valley Classic Thursday in Orange County. Marcus Watson scored 21 points to lead Ventura (2-2) and Kai Johnson came off the bench to score 16. Adrian McIntyre had 10 points and seven rebounds while Anthony Garza also pulled down seven boards. Daniel Crocker also contributed 11 points in the game.
Ventura had difficulty finding its groove offensively in the early going. A steal by Johnson and a jumper by Watson made it 9-4 for the Falcons with 14:05 left in the opening half. The Pirates managed just two field goals over the next seven minutes of play, a three by Watson and a triple by Johnson, but still were within 17-10 with 7:08 on the clock. Crocker followed with a deuce to cut the deficit to five, 17-12, and hit two free throws with 5:34 remaining to make it 19-15 for Cerritos. Watson assisted a Johnson triple with 1:36 on the clock to cut the deficit to 26-23,but the Falcons responded and closed the half on a 7-0 run. Ventura trailed at the break, 33-23.
Cerritos expanded their lead to 44-31 four minutes into the second half. Watson's old-fashioned 3-point play immediately reduced the deficit, and he added a shot from range at the 15:00 mark to pull VC to within 44-37. Johnson nailed a jumper with 8:33 on the clock to reduce the Falcon advantage to 54-51, and Tony Njia made a pair of charity tosses to pull VC to within one. Johnson scored another field goal off of a Watson deuce to complete the comeback, giving the Pirates a 55-54 lead with 6:50 remaining before Nija's lay-up gave Ventura its final lead, 59-58.
The Falcons connected on four 3-pointers for their next four scores, however, to reestablish a seven-point advantage, 70-63, with 2:05 left to play. Despite their best efforts, the Pirates' could not overcome the margin over the final two minutes of play, falling 72-68.
Ventura returns to the court in Irvine on Friday Nov. 11 against College of the Canyons. Tip-off against the Cougars is scheduled for 4:00 pm.