#7 Ventura (16-4, 6-0) overcame some shakey early moments and, thanks largely to PF Moses Gonzalez, posted an 86-74 win over local rival Oxnard (4-12, 0-5) in a WSC-North contest January 22nd. Gonzalez finished with game highs of 25 pts and 9 rebs, and helped the Pirates dig out of an early 12-4 hole by spurring a 28-4 run, and Ventura led the rest of the way.
But it wasn't easy, and Ventura was never quite able to pull away from the Condors, who trailed by just 8 points with just over a minute to play before Gonzalez sank 4 free throws to clinch the win in the final 54 seconds.
Early on, it looked like Ventura might dominate the game as Ctr Gary Nunez scored on a putback and Gonzalez threw down a dunk on a lob from PG Jonathan Davis. That put VC ahead 4-0 and got the crowd roaring.
But after that, it looked like Ventura might self-destruct. The Pirates committed 9 turnovers in the game's first 7 minutes and let Oxnard not only catch up but pull into the lead. SF Lee Abair got Oxnard's first basket, and Ctr Travis Gaines scored on a putback to tie the game 4-4 four minutes into the game. Then PG Herman Hardy made a steal and was fouled; he made 2 FTs to put Oxnard ahead. Baskets by SG Johnnie Coleman and Abair pushed the lead to 10-4, and another bucket by Hardy gave the Condors a 12-4 lead.
Then Gonzalez went to work, bring the Pirates back into the game. A three made it 12-7, and on the next trip down the court he was fouled and converted both free throws to make it 12-9. Then he nailed another three to tie the game at 12. Moments later, SG Charles Dillon converted a pass from SF Danny Mena to give Ventura the lead again at 14-12.
Oxnard SG Albert Ortega scored to tie the game again at 14, but the Ventura onslaught was just beginning. Mena scored on a putback and Nunez scored on a post move to put Ventura back ahead, 18-14. And the run continued. Nunez scored a pair of baskets and SG David Van Someran hit a three to push the Pirate lead into double digits. Then Mena scored on another putback to make it 29-16. Gonzalez finished off the surge by making 1 of 2 FTs and then on the next trip down throwing down another jam to make it 32-16 Ventura.
Oxnard tried to stay close, and they were able to keep Ventura from pulling away. In fact, they cut into the lead and trailed by just 7 at 33-26 after a layup by SF Harold Brooks and a basket by Coleman. At halftime, the game remained close at 38-30 Ventura.
Though Ventura was never able to pull away, Oxnard managed to stay close. Each time Ventura threatened to push their lead much beyond double digits, Oxnard managed to keep pace.
Oxnard scored the first two baskets of the second half on a pair of jumpers by Abair, but then Gonzalez helped Ventura gain control once again. The UTEP-bound forward scored a post move and converted a pair of free throws to make it 42-34. In between that, he drew a charging foul on Oxnard's Gaines, who picked up his fourth foul of the game. After a three by PF Cory Canter for Oxnard, Gonzalez scored on a putback to make it 44-37. A pair of free throws and a three by PG Kenji Rocket pushed Ventura's lead to 12, and a jam by Dillon on a feed from Davis made it 51-37.
But once again, Oxnard rallied to cut the lead into signle digits when Canter scored on a post move to make it 54-45. A three by Brooks moments later made it a 6-point game at 56-50.
This time it was Dillon who spurred the Ventura burst, though he had some help from Gonzalez. Dillon converted a pair of free throws to push the lead to 8, then stole the ball back after the inbounds. Mena missed the layup, but Gonzalez was there to score on the putback. Then Dillon made another steal and took it in himself for a slam that restored a 12-point lead for the Pirates.
Oxnard had one last run, and reduced the lead to 8 at 78-70, but that's as close as they would get. A technical foul on Ventura's Van Someran (one of three VC would incur) enabled the Condors to make it 78-67 on a free throw by Hardy and 2 by Canter. Then Canter knocked down a three to make it 78-70. But then the Condors stopped scoring and had to start fouling. Though Ventura missed several free throws in the final minute, Gonzalez made 4 and that was enough to secure the win for Ventura.
Gonzalez finished with 25 pts and 9 rebs, and also added 4 asts, 3 steals and 4 blocked shots in a marvelous overall performance. Nunez added 17 pts (on 8/10 fgs) and 8 rebs. Van Someran added 17 pts including 3 threes. Dillon had 13 pts, 4 asts and 4 steals while Davis dished out a team-high 5 asts. The Pirates won despite committing 25 turnovers, largely because they shot 54% from the floor.
For Oxnard, Canter led the way with 18 pts (3 threes). Abair added 14 pts. Hardy had 7 pts and a game-high 6 asts. Canter and Gaines tied for team honors with 5 rebs though the Condors did fairly well on the boards as a team, being outrebounded by the larger Pirates by just 6 (38-32). The trouble was that they too had turnovers troubles (26) and shot just 42% from the floor. And they made just 14 free throws compared to 27 for Ventura.
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Saturday, January 22, 2005 - 5:30 pm
at Ventura College
WSC-North
Oxnard Condors 74:
10-Herman Hardy, PG - 1/7 fg, 5/6 ft, 2 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 7 pts
30-Johnnie Coleman, SG - 4/6 fg, 4 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 3 stl, 8 pts
34-Lee Abair, SF - 6/13 fg, 2/2 ft, 4 reb, 1 stl, 14 pts
23-Cory Canter, PF - 5/11 fg, 5/6 ft, 5 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk, 18 pts
42-Travis Gaines, C - 3/6 fg, 1/2 ft, 5 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 7 pts
14-Ronnie Frazier, G - 3/8 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 7 pts
21-Harold Brooks, F - 4/10 fg, 0/1 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 9 pts
32-Timothy Washington, C - 1/4 fg, 3 reb, 2 pts
50-Albert Ortega, G - 1/1 fg, 0/1 ft, 2 pts
22-Shinya Deguchi, G - 0 pts
13-Joseph Mata, G - 1 ast, 0 pts
team rebounds: 5
Totals: 28/66 fg (.424), 14/20 ft (.700), 32 reb, 16 ast, 5 blk, 10 stl, 74 pts
3-pt fg (4): Canter 3, Brooks
Fouled Out: Brooks 4:31 left, Gaines 54.2 left, Frazier 30.5 left, Hardy 20.8 left
Turnovers (26): Gaines 7, Abair 6, Brooks 4, Frazier 3, Hardy 2, Coleman 2, Canter, Washington
Ventura Pirates 86:
21-Charles Dillon, SF - 4/12 fg, 5/6 ft, 4 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl, 13 pts
32-Jonathan Davis, PG - 0/2 fg, 3/6 ft, 1 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl, 3 pts
41-David Van Someran, SG - 4/6 fg, 6/11 ft, 5 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 17 pts
34-Gary Nunez, C - 8/10 fg, 1/4 ft, 8 reb, 1 blk, 3 stl, 17 pts
22-Moses Gonzalez, PF - 7/13 fg, 9/10 ft, 9 reb, 4 ast, 4 blk, 3 stl, 25 pts
25-Danny Mena, F - 3/4 fg, 2/2 ft, 5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 8 pts
10-Kenji Rocket, G - 1/3 fg, 1/3 ft, 1 stl, 3 pts
55-Djadji Daffe, F - 2 reb, 0 pts
11-Ali Hinds, F - 0 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 27/50 fg (.540), 27/42 ft (.643), 38 reb, 19 ast, 5 blk, 15 stl, 86 pts
3-pt fg (5): Van Someran 3, Gonzalez 2
Technical Fouls: Coach Winslow, Dillon, Van Someran
Fouled Out: Dillon 2:41 left
Turnovers (25): Dillon 5, Van Someran 4, Gonzalez 4, Davis 3, Nunez 3, Rocket 3, Mena, Daffe, team
Halftime Score: Ventura 38, Oxnard 30
Updated Records: Ventura 16-4, 6-0 in WSC-N; Oxnard 4-12, 0-5
