SF Stephan Gwin had 20 pts and PG Darrin Kirk had a key steal in the final seconds as Long Beach (4-6) edged visiting Ventura (2-8), 64-61, Tuesday night in a non-conference game.
Ventura trailed by three with about ten seconds left when PG Paul Batuasa squared up to take what could have been a game-tying 3-pointer. But Kirk stripped the ball away before he could get the shot off. Kirk then got the ball to PG Leo Arnold, who made a pair of free throws with 8.6 seconds left to seal the win for the Vikings.
Long Beach began the game with a 5-0 spurt and actually led wire-to-wire. And for the first ten minutes or so, it looked like the Vikings could win in a rout. A 3-pointer by SG Imani Hall made it 14-5, and a free throw by SG Stephen Armstrong made it a 10-point game moments later at 15-5. A putback basket by Ctr Brandon Vaughn made it 23-11, and then baskets by Hall and Gwin made it a 16-point game at 27-11.
Ventura chopped the lead down to just 8 points at the half after PF Jordan Harris scored on a nice pass from SF Pierce Brooks in the final minute of the first half. And the Pirates got 3-pointers from Batuasa and Brooks in the first two minutes of the second half to get within two points at 38-36.
Long Beach continued to lead, pushing the margin to 12 points at 50-38 after a short jumper by PF Holsey Johnson. But Ventura rallied again, closing the margin to two points at 55-53 after a 3-pointer by Brooks with just over five minutes remaining.
In the final minutes, Long Beach never surrendered the lead, but Ventura got within a point at 60-59 after a pair of free throws by Ctr Mike Melonas with 1:12 left. Then, Ventura got the ball back after Johnson missed a shot and Batuasa got the rebound. But SG Jeremiah Slowik was whistled for an offensive foul with 31 seconds left, giving the ball back to Long Beach. Arnold made a pair of free throws to push the Viking lead to 62-59 with 25.1 seconds left, and that turned out to be enough of a margin thanks to Kirks swipe moments later.
In addition to Gwin, Armstrong scored in double figures for Long Beach, finishing with 12 pts. Kirk had 9 pts, 6 asts and 4 steals. The Vikings had just 8 turnovers for the game, compared to 21 for Ventura, which offset the Pirates 43-29 advantage on the boards.
For Ventura, Melonas led the way with 15 pts. Brooks had 13 pts and Harris had 12; each also grabbed 9 rebs.
box score
Tuesday, December 15, 2009 5 pm
At Hall of Champions Gym, Long Beach City College
Ventura Pirates 61:
2-Paul Batuasa, PG 1/4 fg, 3 reb, 5 ast, 1 pf, 3 pts
4-Pierce Brooks, SF 4/16 fg, 2/3 ft, 9 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 13 pts
15-Jeremiah Slowik, SG 3/8 fg, 2/2 ft, 4 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 4 pf, 8 pts
22-Jordan Harris, PF 6/12 fg, 9 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk, 1 stl, 12 pts
55-Mike Melonas, C 4/7 fg, 7/8 ft, 6 reb, 2 ast, 4 pf, 15 pts
30-Moises Barrera, F 1 pf, 0 pts
44-Eysan Toole, C 0/1 fg, 2 reb, 2 stl, 1 pf, 0 pts
11-Jon Keen, F 0 pts
20-Justin Jimenez, G 1/2 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 3 pts
12-Nolan Smith, G 1 stl, 0 pts
5-Antavious Sims, G 3/4 fg, 1/1 ft, 1 ast, 7 pts
team rebounds: 9
Totals: 22/54 fg (.407), 12/14 ft (.857), 43 reb, 16 ast, 4 blk, 5 stl, 12 pf, 61 pts
3-pt fg (5): Brooks 3, Batuasa, Jimenez
Turnovers (21): Batuasa 6, Brooks 4, Jimenez 3, Slowik 2, Harris 2, Melonas 2, Toole, team
Long Beach Vikings 64:
4-Stephen Armstrong, SG 4/10 fg, 3/4 fg, 2 reb, 1 stl, 3 pf, 12 pts
5-Darrin Kirk, PG 3/11 fg, 3/4 ft, 2 reb, 6 ast, 4 stl, 2 pf, 9 pts
21-Stephan Gwin, SF 9/19 fg, 2/4 ft, 5 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 4 pf, 20 pts
50-Kyle Clark, C 0/3 fg, 2 reb, 2 blk, 0 pts
53-Holsey Johnson, PF 2/4 fg, 3/4 ft, 5 reb, 1 stl, 2 pf, 7 pts
3-Leo Arnold, G 1/3 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 1 pf, 4 pts
42-Brandon Vaughn, C 1/1 fg, 3 reb, 1 ast, 4 blk, 2 stl, 4 pf, 2 pts
11-Chris Maheras, F 1/4 fg, 1 reb, 2 ast, 1 pf, 2 pts
2-Imani Hall, G 3/4 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 8 pts
team rebounds: 7
Totals: 24/59 fg (.407), 13/18 ft (.722), 29 reb, 14 ast, 9 blk, 10 stl, 17 pf, 64 pts
3-pt fg (3): Hall 2, Armstrong
Turnovers (8): Kirk 4, Johnson 2, Vaughn, Hall
Halftime Score: Long Beach 38, Ventura 30
Updated Records: Long Beach 4-6, Ventura 2-8
LBCC led wire-to-wire & led by 16 (27-11) in the 1st half and by 12 (50-38) in the second half. Ventura got within a point with 1:12 left and trailed by 3 when Kirk stole the ball away from Batuasa before he could try the game-tying shot. Arnolds 2 FTs with 8.6 seconds left sealed the win for Long Beach.
