The Pirates' men's basketball team held off Santa Barbara Saturday afternoon for a 50-41 victory at the SBCC Sports Pavilion. Vernon Henry was 9-10 at the free throw line and scored 13 points to lead Ventura (14-13, 7-4) and Caleb Gilbert contributed 10 points. Derrick Young had eight points and a team-best eight rebounds in the victory.
Both teams found it difficult to put the ball in the basket in the first half. SBCC held a small advantage through much of the first 10 minutes before back-to-back scores by Young and Beckham Rutherford gave the Pirates a 12-11 lead with 8:00 left in the period. Carter Alexander and Rutherford took turns assisting two more buckets by Young inside and Henry's lay-up at the 6:40 mark completed a 10-0 VC run for an 18-11 lead at the 5:40 mark. The Pirates managed just one more field goal for the remainder of the half, a dunk by Gilbert, but the defense held fast against the Vaqueros. Ventura led SBCC 20-16 at halftime.
VC got untracked after intermission, outscoring Santa Barbara 13-4 over the first five minutes. Henry hit a jumper then made two free throws before SBCC hit a pair of charity shots. Carter quickly answered with a deuce and Gilbert cashed in a dime from Young for another dunk and a 28-18 lead with 15:05 remaining. After another Vaquero score, Reese Widerburg and Carter Alexander each hit 3-pointers to extend the margin to 34-20 less than two minutes later.
Ventura went on a cold streak for the next five minutes, but the Vaqueros only managed a pair of three's to cut the lead to eight, 34-26. Young's lay-up with 8:43 on the clock broke the Pirate skid, and Gilbert followed with a lay-up off a Henry assist to reestablish a double-digit lead. Down the stretch, Santa Barbara slowly cut into the Pirate lead, and pulled to within 45-41 with 1:23 remaining. Henry went 5-6 at the free throw line in the final minute, however, to wrap up the Pirate victory.
Gilbert grabbed four steals defensively while grabbing six rebounds. Widerburg totaled nine points in the balanced effort.
The Pirates return home for the final game of the regular season on Friday Feb. 23. They will host conference-leading Allan Hancock College at 5:00 pm at the Athletic Event Center.