The Pirates' men's basketball team held a nine-point advantage midway through the second half Saturday at Moorpark, but could not hang on, dropping a 78-77 decision to the Raiders. Vida Faniel had another strong outing for VC (15-12, 6-2) with 25 points, 14 rebounds and four assists. Calvin Young and Cordel Hankerson also contributed 19 points to the effort for the Pirates while Eddie Cowan handed out four helpers.
VC was off to a strong start early. Faniel sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers around lay-ups from Trevor LaCount and Young to lead 10-6, three-plus minutes into the game. A minute later Hankerson scored on a slam dunk prompting a Moorpark timeout with VC ahead 12-6.
The Raiders came out and went on a 14-1 run before a pair of Hankerson bombs from range made it 20-19 for MC midway through the half.
A Faniel bucket tied the game at 29 with 5:38 left in the half before Moorpark went on a 10-0 streak to seemingly take control. Undeterred, the Pirates mounted a comeback before the break, outscoring the Raiders 10-2 in the final 2:38 of the period. Faniel had six points during the run and VC trailed 41-39 at halftime.
Jumpers from Young and Hankerson, and a triple by Faniel put Ventura back ahead 46-43 with 16:50 remaining in the game, and the Pirates stretched the lead out to 56-45 at the 13:49 mark on Young's long-ranger.
The raiders scored the next seven points, however, before a Young 3-pointer and two charity tosses by Faniel stopped the bleeding. Hankerson made a field goal with 8:39 remaining to give the Pirates a 66-57 margin.
MC went on a 17-4 run over the next four minutes of game time to complete their comeback and take a 74-70 lead at the 4:10 mark. Faniel had a tip in with 2:35 left, and made two free throws on the next possession to tie the score at 76-76, but VC could not find another bucket to defeat the Raiders, falling 78-77.
The only solace the Pirates could take from the loss Saturday is that second place Cuesta lost at Oxnard, maintaining Ventura's one-game edge in the Western State Conference race with two games remaining.
Ventura will attempt to clinch a share of their second straight WSC title at home on Wednesday Feb. 15 against Oxnard. Tip-off at the Athletic Event Center is scheduled for 5:00 pm and the game can also be seen live on the VC Sports Network.