The VC men's basketball team advanced to the semifinals of the Gregg Anderson Memorial Tournament with an 89-60 victory over Compton Friday afternoon. Adrian McIntyre flirted with a triple double, scoring 27 points with eight rebounds and seven assists and Michael Noulowe produced a double-double of 18 points and 12 boards in the first round game at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster. Anthony Garza scored an even dozen and Kordell Gordon came off the bench to net 10 for the Pirates (6-3).
Ventura took control with a methodical and decisive run early in the game. With the score tied 7-7, McIntyre scored on a lay-up with 17:16 remaining to put the Pirates ahead for good. McIntyre then sandwiched a pair of scores around a Tartar bucket followed by a lay-up by Aaron Dawoodjee. McIntyre then cashed in an assist by Garza for an 18-9 VC margin at the 13:06 mark. Godron's 3-pointer off a McIntyre dime stretched the lead to 10, 22-12, two minutes later. The lead fluctuated between eight and 13 points for the next seven minutes until Tony Njia's old-fashioned 3-point play pushed the score to 37-22 and the 4:32 mark. Ventura led at halftime 45-24.
Compton was able to maintain its proximity with the Pirates for a few minutes into the second half before VC used an 18-2 run to pull away. Ventura led 58-49 when Compton scored a bucket at the 13:21 mark. McIntyre began the run with a 3-pointer on the next possession followed by a Kai Johnson deuce and Noulowe's triple. McIntyre, Johnson and Noulowe each recorded field goals to make it a 14-0 run prior to the Tarters ending the skid with a jumper with 9:38 remaining. Garza then converted a Marcus Watson assist for two, and dunked the helper from McIntyre to stretch the lead to 76-51 with 8:49 on the clock. The Pirates weren't threatened the rest of the home stretch in the 89-60 triumph.
VC moves into the tournament semifinals on Saturday Dec. 3 against Pasadena. Tip-off in Lancaster is slated for 5:00 pm.