After trailing 10-8 early in the game, the Pirates' men's basketball team outscored host LA Pierce 40-10 over the final 15-plus of the first half, ultimately posting a 104-65 victory over the Brahmas in action Saturday in Woodland Hills. Anthony Garza led four Pirates in double-figures with 24 points and Marcus Watson netted 18. Kai Johnson and Kordell Gordon recorded 15 and 10 points, respectively, while Jeroe Bidlow scored nine off the bench for VC (15-5, 3-1).
The Pirates opened up with an 8-0 lead in the first two minutes of play. Johnson connected from range before Garza scored on an old-fashioned 3-point play. Watson then cashed in an assist by Garza for two at the 18:12 mark for the early edge. The Brahmas made their only real run of the game over the next two minutes, holding a 10-8 margin with 15:52 remaining in the first half. It was all Ventura from that point with Johnson's three beginning the decisive run to halftime. Garza turned a Watson dime into two on a dunk and Johnson nailed another long-range bomb, followed by back-to-back buckets by Watson. Bidlow scored inside from a johnson dime and the Pirates led 22-10 at the 11:34 mark. Gordon sandwiched a pair of field goals around a free throw by Tony Njia to stretch the lead to 20, 34-14, with 5:00 on the clock, and Max Kadlec and Garza each made 3-pointers to close the half for a 48-20 Pirate advantage at intermission.
Garza netted three consecutive buckets to open the second half and Johnson hit another three. Watson's bucket with 16:38 on the clock stretched the lead to 31, 59-28. Landreau Tate made it a 71-38 ball game with a 3-point play at the 12:50 mark, and Gordon's lay-up stretched the margin to 34, 74-40. The VC advantage remained above 30 points for the remainder of the game, and Bidlow's 3-point play made the score 90-54 with 5:34 remaining. Daniel Crocker hit a three with 3:42 remaining to break the century-mark, 100-62 as VC cruised in for the 104-65 victory.
Johnson flirted with a triple-double, adding 10 rebounds and seven assists to his 15 points. Watson had six dimes and five boards while Gordon pulled in five caroms with four assists. All 11 players for the Pirates scored in the contest.
VC will next travel to Santa Barbara on Wednesday Jan. 18. Tip-off at the SBCC Sports Pavilion is scheduled for 7:00 pm.