So Cal No. 15-ranked Ventura College men's basketball team played host to rival Oxnard College and picked up a big 89-78 Western State Conference North win. Closing out the first trip through WSC play. the win puts the Pirates right in the thick of the title race with six games to go. Steven Bush topped the Pirates with 21 points on seven 3-pointers. Elijah Brown remained hot with 17 points and seven assists. Trevor LaCount added 12 points of his own.
Ventura (14-8, 4-2) dropped their first two games of WSC North play to start conference, but has responded in strong fashion to run off three straight conference wins going into their match up with OC. Leaving little doubt in knocking off the Condors to remain within striking distance of a conference title going into the second round of conference play. Ventura has leaned heavily on the scoring ability of Brown throughout the season, but for this evening it was another Pirate who fronted the way with Bush hitting on 7 of 13 attempts from beyond the arc including five in the first half of play.
Ventura took the early advantage in the game going up 15-11 after just over seven minutes of game play. Then Brown and Bush hit from long range and Brown dished out two of his seven assists and the Pirates were able to widen their advantage to 23-12 at just under the ten minute mark. VC continued to pull away over the next three minutes increasing to as large as a 14 point margin when Timmy Garcia hit a 3-pointer. OC was able to get the deficit to single digits at 31-20 with 4:41 to play in the half, but Bush went to work in the last two minutes hitting two from beyond the arc and extending the Pirates to a 13 point half time advantage at 48-35.
Holding a comfortable advantage at the half did not leave the Pirates feeling the job was completed and they continued to attack OC to start the second half. Cordel Hankerson hit an early 3-pointer and LaCount scored a pair of baskets and VC stayed up by nine points with 13:25 to play. OC got to within seven points at the 10:22 mark, but Bush and Jacob Alonzo both hit on 3-pointers and VC was right back up 72-63 at 8:02 to play. The Pirates went on a run to go up by 14 again with just 3:50 left when Jalon Wilson hit a two pointer while being fouled to put the margin at 84-70 for the Pirates and essentially close out any hopes the Condors had for a comeback.
Wilson dished out four assists for the Pirates. Vida Faniel topped the Pirates with nine rebounds in the game while Josh Watterson added eight rebounds of his own. Ventura out rebounded the Condors 45 to 33 in the victory including 18 to 13 on the offensive glass.
With the win the Pirates will now match up against the only two WSC North teams to beat them so far this year. First, they will travel to San Luis Obispo on Saturday Jan. 30 for a 7:00 pm game against first place Cuesta College So Cal No. 7-ranked. Then on Wednesday Feb. 3 the Pirates will host cross county rival and So Cal No. 11-ranked Moorpark College for a 7:00 pm game at the Ventura College Athletic Event Center.