For the third straight year, Saddleback advanced to the State Tourney while for the third straight year Ventura's season ended in anguish at the regional final as the visiting Gauchos (28-6) topped the Pirates (25-8) Satuday night, 76-67, in front of a full house.
PG David Pak had a huge game with 17 pts, 8 rebs, 5 asts and 2 steals to lead the way. And of course SF Marques Crane was a big part of the win, scoring 17 pts and grabbing a game-high 13 rebs.
But perhaps the biggest star for Saddleback was Ctr Andre Hardwick. He scored 11 of his 17 pts and grabbed 8 of his 9 rebs in the second half as the Gauchos opened up a 15-point lead after being ahead by only 2 at the break. And his huge presence in the middle kept Ventura from establishing its offense.
The game started well enough for the Pirates, who jumped to an early 13-7 lead. Even after Ctr Danny Gray had to sit down with 2 fouls early on, backup Aaron Watson came in and scored a pair of baskets. PF Raheem Jones' passing from the post was a key to the early Ventura lead, and Jones ended up with a team-high 4 asts on the night.
Saddleback rallied to tie the game at 19 on a three by Pak and a long 2-pointer by SG Brandon Sievers. Things remained close the rest of the half, with Saddleback taking the lead on a bucket by Hardwick to make the score 32-30.
Then came the second half, and for the first 7:40 it was all Saddleback. Baskets by SG Justin Griffin and Hardwick in the first minute started the run, and that pair also scored the last 2 baskets of the 17-4 spurt. By then it was 49-34 with 12:20 left.
Ventura made a spirited comeback behind a pair of FTs by SG Jamie Sanchez, a 3-pointer by PF Jackson Wood, and a pair of FTs by Watson to close the gap to 5 at 52-47 with 7-1/2 minutes left.
But that's as close as Ventura would get. A driving layup by Pak and 2 FTs by Hardwick stemmed the momentum, and Saddleback had it's double-digit lead restored. The Pirates later rallied on 3 straight baskets by SF Elijah Muldrow to trail by just 6 at 70-64 with 44.2 seconds left, but 3 FTs each by Pak and Hardwick sealed the win for Saddleback.
Ventura was led by Muldrow's 14 pts, but he finished just 7 of 20 shooting, didn't get a free throw and committed 6 turnovers. Sanchez added 12 pts, but just 2 of those came after halftime. Jones had a solid game with 10 pts, 6 rebs and 4 asts, but did most of his damage before halftime.
Saddleback will now head to San Diego to try to win back-to-back championships. Six players, including Crane and Hardwick, were on last year's champions, which defeated LA City in the championship game.
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Saturday, March 8, 2003 - 5:30 PM
At Ventura College
JC Playoffs - 3rd round (regional final)
Saddleback Gauchos 76:
12-David Pak, PG - 5/13 fg, 5/6 ft, 8 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 17 pts
25-Justin Griffin, SG - 3/8 fg, 1/4 ft, 4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 7 pts
45-Chris Powell, PF - 0/1 fg, 0 pts
21-Marques Crane, SF - 5/14 fg, 7/9 ft, 13 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 17 pts
34-Andre Hardwick, C - 6/10 fg, 5/12 ft, 9 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 17 pts
32-Chase Peterson, F - 2/3 fg, 2/4 ft, 3 reb, 6 pts
41-Chad Bigler, F - 3/6 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 2 ast, 8 pts
11-Justin Bell, G - 2 ast, 0 pts
13-Brandon Sievers, G - 1/4 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 reb, 4 pts
24-Maurice Merrells, G - 0 pts
team rebounds: 5
Totals: 25/59 fg (.424), 23/39 ft (.590), 45 reb, 15 ast, 1 blk, 7 stl, 76 pts
3-pt fg (3): Pak 2, Bigler
Turnovers (17): Pak 7, Crane 4, Peterson 3, Powell, Hardwick, Sievers
Ventura Pirates 67:
10-Jamie Sanchez, SG - 4/9 fg, 3/3 ft, 5 reb, 1 stl, 12 pts
11-Rashien Little, PG - 2/4 fg, 3/4 ft, 3 ast, 1 stl, 7 pts
34-Raheem Jones, PF - 4/7 fg, 2/4 ft, 6 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 10 pts
45-Elijah Muldrow, SF - 7/20 fg, 7 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 14 pts
33-Danny Gray, C - 1/1 fg, 1 blk, 2 pts
55-Aaron Watson, C - 4/7 fg, 3/4 ft, 7 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 11 pts
41-Matt Colton, F - 0/2 fg, 2 reb, 1 stl, 0 pts
22-Roosevelt Bolden, G - 3/8 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 8 pts
25-Jackson Wood, F - 1/5 fg, 2 reb, 3 pts
30-Sean Simmons, F - 0/1 fg, 1 reb, 1 blk, 0 pts
team rebounds: 7
Totals: 26/64 fg (.406), 11/15 ft (.733), 38 reb, 12 ast, 4 blk, 7 stl, 67 pts
3-pt fg (4): Bolden 2, Sanchez, Wood
Intentional Foul: Wood
Fouled Out: Simmons 2.4 secs left
Turnovers (17): Muldrow 6, Little 4, Watson 3, Jones 2, Sanchez, Bolden
Halftime Score: Saddleback 32, Ventura 30
Updated Records: Saddleback 28-6, Ventura 25-8
Saddleback started the second half on a 17-4 run to take command. Ventura closed the gap to 5 at 52-47 but could get no closer.
