In a showdown of two of the top teams in the Southland, #7 Ventura (14-4) had five scorers in double figures and shot 60% from the floor, which was enough to turn back #3 Fullerton (13-4), 95-88, Thursday night at the VC Athletic Event Center.
PG Danny Benson and PF Brandon Dixon each had 18 pts, Ctr Tavaris Gilbert and SF Kevin Menner each had 13, and PF Angelo Whitehead came off the bench to add 14 for the Pirates.
Fullerton jumped out to a 10-point lead midway through the first half at 26-16, but fell behind early in the second half. The Hornets stayed close throughout the rest of the game, but were never able to cut into the Ventura lead.
After Ventura took a 7-6 lead in the game's opening minutes, Fullerton scored the next 7 points to go ahead, 13-7. The lead reached 10 at 26-16 after a steal and a pair of free throws by SF Wayne Andrews, and a pair of free throws by SF Justin Carter after a technical foul on Ventura coach Greg Winslow with 10:52 left in the first half.
Fullerton again led by 10 points at 30-20, but then Ventura went on a 10-0 run to wipe out that lead. A bankshot basket tied the game at 30 with 6:20 left in the first half. The lead went back and forth the rest of the half, with Fullerton going into the break leading, 44-41, after Carter scored on a driving lay-up, drew a foul and completed the 3-point play with a free throw with 28.6 seconds left before intermission.
When the second half began, Ventura tied the game at 44 on a three by Benson (Ventura's only 3-pointer of the night). The score was still tied a couple of minutes later at 48 when Ventura went on a 7-0 run to take a lead it would hold the rest of the way. A 3-point play by Gilbert put the Pirates into the lead, 51-48. Then SG Dee Pinkard passed to Menner for a basket to make it 53-48, and then Pinkard scored on a short jumper to make it 55-48.
Then Ventura lead briefly reached 10 points at 62-52 with 13:59 remaining, and through Fullerton cut the margin to 5 points at 69-64 after a three by SG Larry DeHughes with just under 9 minutes left, Ventura pushed the margin back into double digits when a basket by Dixon on a feed from Benson made it 80-70 with just under 5 minutes left, and increased the lead to 12 at 82-70 moments later when Benson scored on a pass from Whitehead with 4:34 remaining.
Despite losing PF Mike Cox and PG Warren Fuselier, who both fouled out, Fullerton rallied to cut the Ventura lead to 4 points at 88-84 with just over a minute to go. But that's as close as the Hornets would get. A pair of free throws by PG Robert Wright with 54.8 seconds left pushed the Ventura lead back to 6 at 90-84. Then, after Carter missed a pair of free throws for Fullerton, Menner scored on a pass from Wright on a fast break, drew the foul and converted the free throw to make it 93-84 and clinch the win for Ventura.
For the game, the Pirates went 32 of 53, a 60.4% clip, and also went to the free throw line 47 times (and made 30 free throws). Gilbert had a huge night with a game-high 9 rebs plus 3 asts, 4 blocks and 2 steals for the Pirates. Pinkard chipped in with 7 pts and a game-high 6 asts.
For Fullerton, Carter finished with a game-high 35 pts, including 17 of 24 from the free throw line. Cox had 15 pts and 7 rebs before fouling out with 3:55 left. Andrews, who was held out of the starting lineup for disciplinary reasons, still managed 14 pts, 7 rebs and 4 steals. However, starting PG Darian McKinstry was also held out for disciplinary reasons, and did not play at all.
With the win, Ventura improves to 14-4 overall while Fullerton falls to 13-4.
box score
Thursday, January 3, 2008 - 7 pm
at Ventura College Athletic Event Center
Fullerton Hornets 88:
1-Justin Carter, SF - 9/22 fg, 17/24 ft, 5 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl, 5 pf, 35 pts
4-Calise Patterson, SG - 4/11 fg, 4 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 9 pts
22-Warren Fuselier, PG - 1/3 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl, 5 pf, 4 pts
32-Mike Cox, PF - 6/12 fg, 3/4 ft, 7 reb, 2 blk, 1 stl, 5 pf, 15 pts
45-Mitch Burrell, C - 0/1 fg, 1/2 ft, 5 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 1 pt
24-Wayne Andrews, F - 3/10 fg, 8/10 ft, 7 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 4 stl, 4 pf, 14 pts
5-Larry DeHughes, G - 3/8 fg, 0/1 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 7 pts
2-Ray Magee, F - 1/2 fg, 1/2 ft, 3 reb, 1 stl, 2 pf, 3 pts
25-Chris Russell, G - 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 10
Totals: 27/69 fg (.391), 32/45 ft (.711), 43 reb, 18 ast, 6 blk, 15 stl, 31 pf, 88 pts
3-pt fg (2): Patterson, DeHughes
Fouled Out: Cox 5:10 left, Fuselier 3:55 left, Carter 2.0 secs left
Turnovers (27): Carter 11, Cox 5, Fuselier 4, Burrell 3, DeHughes 2, Patterson, Andrews
Ventura Pirates 95:
4-Kevin Menner, SF - 4/8 fg, 5/8 ft, 3 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl, 13 pts
5-Danny Benson, PG - 7/8 fg, 3/4 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 1 pf, 18 pts
25-Dee Pinkard, SG - 3/5 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 7 pts
33-Brandon Dixon, PF - 8/11 fg, 2/6 ft, 6 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 18 pts
55-Tavaris Gilbert, C - 4/10 fg, 5/8 ft, 9 reb, 3 ast, 4 blk, 2 stl, 4 pf, 13 pts
2-Derick Bell, G - 2/6 fg, 2/5 ft, 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 6 pts
11-Prince Abidoye, G - 1/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 1 pt
42-Will Faiivae, F - 1/2 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 4 pf, 2 pts
15-Angelo Whitehead, F - 3/3 fg, 8/8 ft, 4 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk, 3 stl, 4 pf, 14 pts
22-Robert Wright, G - 3/4 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 1 pf, 3 pts
20-Eric Gray, F - 1 reb, 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 2
Totals: 32/53 fg (.604), 30/47 ft (.638), 36 reb, 22 ast, 9 blk, 15 stl, 26 pf, 95 pts
3-pt fg (1): Benson
Technical Foul: Coach Winslow, bench
Turnovers (29): Menner 5, Benson 5, Pinkard 4, Abidoye 4, Wright 3, Dixon 2, Bell 2, Whitehead 2, Gilbert, Faiivae
Halftime Score: Fullerton 44, Ventura 41
Updated Records: Ventura (#7-South, #11-Calif) 14-4; Fullerton (#3-South, #5-Calif) 13-4
