The VC men's basketball team used a strong defensive effort in he second half Saturday in their 68-60 triumph over Pasadena in the semifinals of the Gregg Anderson Memorial Tournament at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster. Kordell Gordon came off the bench to score 23 points, 17 in the final 20 minutes, and grabbed nine rebounds to help lead Ventura (7-3) to their fourth straight win. Kai Johnson, making his first start for the Pirates, netted 18 points with seven boards.
The first half was a dogfight with five lead changes and nine ties in the first 16 minutes of play. VC held the largest lead in the early going, a 22-18 advantage on Tony Njia's lay-up from a Johnson pass with 7:21 on the clock. Pasadena finally took a little control, hitting three straight 3-pointers to take a 32-26 lead with 3:20 remaining in the first half. Johnson converted a Marcus Watson dime at the 1:22 mark to pull VC to within 34-31 before the Lancers scored the final five points of the stanza. PCC led 39-31 at the break.
Ventura came out strong in the second half, outscoring Pasadena 19-2 to open the period. Anthony Garza converted a Watson assist inside before Gordon answered a Lancer score with back-to-back lay-ups. Garza scored again off Adrian McIntyre's dime and Gordon hit from range to put the Pirates ahead 42-40. Garza continued the run with another deuce and Johnson hit a pair of free throws. McIntyre scored off a pass from Watson and Gordon hit a putback to push the VC lead to 50-40 with 13:02 remaining in the game. PCC hit a three to pull to within 54-51 at the 7:36 mark before Johnson sandwiched a bucket and two free throws around a score by McIntyre to push back the Lancer threat. Gordon's and-one dunk with 1:35 on the clock sealed the deal, 66-53.
McIntyre finished the game with 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists and Watson pulled in seven boards with three dimes. Garza scored six with eight caroms.
VC will take on Victor Valley in the tournament final on Sunday Dec. 4 with tip-off in Lancaster scheduled for 5:00 pm.