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LA Pierce 73, Ventura 71

LA Pierce went on a 22-0 run in the 1st half to wipe out a 10-point deficit and led by 11 at the half, but had to hold off a late Ventura rally to get a much-needed win over visiting Ventura Saturday night in WSC-North action.

Ventura (7-17, 4-7) started well, jumping out to a 13-3 lead in the game's first 5:12 after a steal & basket by SG Antavious Sims. And the Pirates still had a 10-point lead at 19-9 with 8:18 left in the first half.

Then came the 22-0 run. Pierce tied the game at 19 on a bank-shot from in close from SG Josh Thomas, and took a 22-19 lead on a 3-pointer from SG Ryan Rubino. Then two free throws from SF Daniel St. Hubert made it 24-19, and two more from SG Jeremy White made it 26-19. A 3-pointer by PF Malcolm Collins made it 29-19, and a basket by PF Javael Boykins on an assist by St. Hubert after a steal by PG Ever Lopez finished the run and made it 31-19.

Ventura finally ended the drought when PF Jordan Harris hit a short jumper with 5:06 left in the half. But Pierce pushed the margin to 11 points at 41-30 at halftime after a putback by Ctr Anthony Morton in the final minute of the first half.

With little left to play for - Ventura is ineligible for the playoffs this season due to sanctions - the Pirates still battled back in the second half, cutting the margin to six points at 45-39 after a 3-point play by Ctr Mike Melonas with 14:42 left to play. A jumper by SG Jeremiah Slowik cut the margin to five points at 51-46 midway through the second half.

Pierce twice tried to pull away, pushing the margin back to double digits, but Ventura kept fighting back and got the margin down to just three points at 65-62 after a Melonas putback with four minutes left. Pierce got a basket from Boykins and two free throws from Lopez to make it 69-62, but Ventura cut the margin back to five points when Slowik scored on a baseline drive with 1:50 left. And then Sims drove for a lay-up to make it a two-point game at 69-67 with 50 seconds left.

But Pierce never quite surrendered the lead. St. Hubert scored on a pass from Thomas to make it 71-67 with 41.2 seconds left, but Ventura answered with a putback basket by Slowik to make it 71-69. Ventura had no choice but to foul, sending Thomas to the line with 28.7 seconds left; he made one of two free throws to make it 72-69.

Then Sims scored on a driving lay-up with 11.2 seconds left to get the Pirates within a single point at 72-71. Again, Ventura had to foul and sent St. Hubert to the line with 10.0 seconds left. And like Thomas, he missed the first but made the second free throw to make it 73-71. Ventura inbounded the ball and got it to center court before calling a timeout with 7.1 seconds remaining.

On the restart, the ball went to Sims, who once again drove the lane. Just as he got near the basket, he was fouled by White with 2.4 seconds left. But Sims, who has struggled from the line all season, missed the first free throw. He missed the second on purpose, but after a scramble below the basket Ctr Terran Carter came out with the ball for Pierce, allowing the Brahmas to escape with the win.

For Pierce, seven players scored at least 8 points each. St. Hubert had 11 pts and 6 rebs, and Thomas had 10 pts plus a game-high 6 asts. Carter had 9 pts. Boykins, Lopez, Rubino and White each had 8 pts; White also grabbed a game-high 10 rebs.

For Ventura, Sims came off the bench for a game-high 14 pts in a strong effort (aside from the free throws). Melonas had 13 pts and 8 rebs. SF Pierce Brooks also had 13 pts despite having to leave the game twice due to a laceration on the side of his face; just the free throws he was forced to forego could have given him three more points (he was fouled and had to leave the game before attempting the free throws each time). Harris had 10 pts and a team-high 9 rebs.

The game was not only close, but remarkable in how even the statistics were. Each team made 27 field goals and 15 free throws from 25 free throw attempts. Each team had 43 rebounds, and each team had 12 assists. Pierce two more 3-pointers, two more blocked shots, one more steal, three fewer shot attempts and one fewer turnover.

With the win, Pierce improves to 7-3 in WSC-North play this season, and will finish at 4th-place Oxnard on Wednesday and home against last-place Hancock next Saturday, likely needing to win out to gain the program's first playoff berth since mens basketball was reinstated at Pierce for the 2002-03 season.

box score

Saturday, February 13, 2010 - 7 pm
at LA Pierce College, Woodland Hills
WSC-North

Ventura Pirates 71:
2-Paul Batuasa, PG - 2/5 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 ast, 3 pf, 6 pts
4-Pierce Brooks, SF - 4/9 fg, 4/5 ft, 6 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 4 pf, 13 pts
15-Jeremiah Slowik, SG - 5/10 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 10 pts
22-Jordan Harris, PF - 4/14 fg, 2/2 ft, 9 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 10 pts
55-Mike Melonas, C - 5/11 fg, 3/3 ft, 8 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 13 pts
5-Antavious Sims, G - 7/15 fg, 0/6 ft, 6 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 14 pts
12-Nolan Smith, G - 2/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 2 pts
20-Justin Jimenez, F - 0/2 fg, 1/1 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 1 pf, 1 pt
10-Randy Gonzales, F - 0/1 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 pt
30-Moises Barrera, G - 0 pts
33-Michael Beliveau, C - 1/2 ft, 1 ast, 1 pt
team rebounds: 7
Totals: 27/67 fg (.403), 15/25 ft (.600), 43 reb, 12 ast, 5 blk, 5 stl, 21 pf, 71 pts

3-pt fg (2): Batuasa, Brooks
Turnovers (13): Sims 5, Harris 3, Slowik 2, Batuasa, Brooks, Gonzales

LA Pierce Brahmas 73:
3-Daniel St. Hubert, SF - 5/9 fg, 1/2 ft, 6 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 4 pf, 11 pts
22-Terran Carter, C - 3/6 fg, 3/4 ft, 5 reb, 1 blk, 2 pf, 9 pts
31-Ever Lopez, PG - 2/6 fg, 4/6 ft, 6 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 1 pf, 8 pts
34-Javael Boykins, PF - 4/6 fg, 0/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 8 pts
55-Josh Thomas, SG - 4/10 fg, 2/3 ft, 3 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 10 pts
21-Jeremy White, G - 3/6 fg, 2/4 ft, 10 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 8 pts
5-Malcolm Collins, F - 1/6 fg, 2/2 ft, 4 reb, 4 pf, 5 pts
13-Arash Riahi, C - 0/1 fg, 2 reb, 1 pf, 0 pts
24-Ryan Rubino, G - 3/4 fg, 8 pts
33-Michael Aguilar, C - 0/2 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 ast, 1 pf, 1 pt
23-Bertrant Kamga, F - 1/6 fg, 2 reb, 3 pts
32-Anthony Morton, C - 1/2 fg, 2 reb, 1 pf, 2 pts
team rebounds: 1
Totals: 27/64 fg (.422), 15/25 ft (.600), 43 reb, 12 ast, 7 blk, 6 stl, 21 pf, 73 pts

3-pt fg (4): Rubino 2, Collins, Kamga
Turnovers (12): St. Hubert 4, Carter 3, Collins 3, White, Riahi

Halftime Score: LA Pierce 41, Ventura 30

Updated Records: LA Pierce 13-11 overall, 7-3 in WSC-North; Ventura 7-17 overall, 4-7 in WSC-North

Ventura led by 10 at 13-3 and 19-9. Then Pierce went on a 22-0 run to lead, 31-19, and led by 11 at the half. Ventura got it down to one point in the final minute and Sims went to the line with 2.4 seconds left with a chance to tie it but missed 2 FTs (the second intentionally) and Carter got the last rebound.