VC's Adrian McIntyre scored a team-high 18 points and six other Pirates netted between seven and 11 points each as the Ventura College men's basketball team advanced to the state "Sweet 16" with a 74-69 playoff victory over Santiago Canyon Saturday at the Athletic Event Center. Tony Njia came off the bench for 11 points and Marcus Watson recorded 10 points with six assists. Meanwhile Anthony Garza and Aaron Dawoodjee had nine points each while Daniel Crocker scored eight and Kai Johnson tallied seven with nine rebounds.
McIntyre surpassed the 1,000 career point mark with his final points of the game. He now has 1,001 total points in his Pirate career.
The No. 7-seeded Pirates established themselves early, using a 10-0 run to take a 12-2 lead five minutes into the game. Garza assisted a Crocker lay-up to break a 2-2 tie and Dawoodjee followed with a three from a Watson dime. Garza had an offensive rebound and putback and made one of two free throws before Michael Noulowe's jumper with 15:04 remaining in the first half gave VC the double-digit lead.
The Hawks, seeded No. 10, came back with their own 7-0 run before McIntyre countered with three straight scores, the final one on a dunk at the 10:43 mark to make it 18-9. Ventura (23-6) continued to keep SCC at arm's length with answers to every Hawk charge. Dawoodjee's 3-pointer extended the lead to 25-17 at the 7:25 mark and Njia hit from range for a 28-19 Pirate advantage two minutes later.
When Santiago Canyon pulled to within one, 30-29, Dawoodjee hit his third key triple and Watson scored on the drive in the final minute of the half. McIntyre then countered a Hawk three with an old-fashioned 3-point play in the closing seconds of the period and Ventura led 38-32 at halftime.
SCC closed in on the Pirates as the second half commenced with two straight buckets. Garza cashed in a Watson pass for two to get VC back on the board, and Njia scored on a 3-point play a short time later to extend the Ventura lead back to four, 45-41, with 15:29 left to play. The Hawks finished their comeback, however, and took a 46-45 lead with 13:23 on the clock. The Hawks continued to have the Pirates' number over the next five minutes, opening up a 59-52 margin at the 8:28 mark.
Ventura came roaring back with a 9-0 run over the next three minutes of game time. Watson ignited the run with a pair of free throws and Garza's offensive rebound and dunk excited the partisan home crowd. Njia hit twice from the foul line and McIntyre cashed in a Watson assist for a 3-point play to give VC a 61-59 edge at the 5:29 mark.
The game was tied at 61, 63, 65 and 67 over the next two-plus minutes before Watson scored on a lay-up at the 2:28 mark to give the Pirates the lead for good. Three straight stops by the Ventura defense followed before Johnson hit a three to put VC ahead by five, 72-69, in the final minute. Although the Hawks managed to score one more bucket, McIntyre hit a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left to put the game on ice.
VC won the battle on the boards, 33-30, with Garza pulling in seven rebounds and McIntyre corralling four caroms. McIntyre also handed out four dimes in the game and Watson grabbed three steals.
Ventura advances to the "Sweet 16" to face No. 2-seed Citrus on Saturday March 4 in Glendora. The Owls defeated No. 18/19 CYpress 81-74. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 pm with a trip to the CCCAA State "Elite 8" on the line.