The Pirates' men's basketball team had a difficult night Wednesday, falling to conference-leading Allan Hancock College 78-50 in Santa Maria. Caleb Geisendorfer came off the bench for 12 points and eight rebounds and Kai Johnson also added a dozen in a reserve role to lead Ventura (11-11, 4-2).
Buckets by Landreau Tate and Carter Alexander gave VC an early 4-2 advantage. The Bulldogs came back with five straight points, however, to hold a 7-4 margin four minutes into the game. Geisendorfer twice made a pair of free throws in the middle of the first half to keep the Pirates close, and Vernon Henry's lay-up with 8:32 on the clock kept Ventura within 14-11. Hancock went on a 16-2 run at that point, however, to take full control of the game. The Pirates trailed 34-15 at halftime.
The Ventura struggles continued in the final period as they were unable to find any traction against the Bulldogs. Johnson was a bright spot for Ventrua in the half, scoring 12 points in 14 minutes of play, but VC ultimately dropped the decision, 78-50.
Caleb Gilbert did pull down six rebounds in the game and Rick Djouwe had four boards.
VC begins the second round of Western State COnference play on Saturday Feb. 3 at Oxnard. Tip-off with the Condors is slated for 1:00 pm.