It wasn't the way host LA City wanted to say farewell to their 74-year-old "Y-Nasium", but the old building was the scene of yet another tense, tough and extremely well-played playoff game Saturday night as visiting #6 Ventura (25-4) edged the #3 Cubs (27-4) 68-66 in the last game played in the state's oldest Community College gymnasium.
With the bleachers packed, fans squeezing into whatever space was available in the corners and the heat cranked up on high, it was the kind of game LA City has been well-known for over the last many years. And the game featured two of the most successful teams in California Community College basketball over the last decade or so: LACC has won 12 straight SCC-North division titles while VC has won 16 of the last 18 WSC-North division titles in which the school has fielded a team.
This game came down to the final seconds, and the teams combined to shoot nearly 50% from the floor and totalled just 27 turnovers. But for Cubs fans the result was eerily similar to last year's regional final, when the Cubs lost to eventual state champion Compton in a tough, tense battle on the first Saturday in March.
Just as they did last year, LA City slowly opened a short lead midway through the second half only to see the opposition pull out a close win in the end. This time Ventura used some clutch free throw shooting, going 11 for 12 in the later stages of the second half and 20 for 23 from the line for the entire game, to get the victory.
It was a physical, deliberate, half-court type game and neither team ever led by more than 5 points. And Ventura overcame a 4-point halftime deficit and won despite shooting just 40% from the floor in the second half (compared to 50% for LACC). But the difference was that the Pirates also made 17 of 20 free throws after intermission. Meanwhile, LA City made just 5 of 11 free throws in the second half and just 8 of 16 for the night.
LA City jumped out to a 6-2 lead early on as SF Chad McKenzie fed Ctr Shawn Simpson for a pair of in-close baskets before scoring himself on a short jumper. But Ventura rallied, taking a 7-6 lead after a pair of baskets and a free throw by PF Moses Gonzalez. Ventura pushed their lead to 9-6 on a post move by Ctr Gary Nunez, and took a 5-point lead at 17-12 after a driving lay-up by SF Charles Dillon.
But then LA City rallied to tie the game on a dunk by McKenzie, a free throw by McKenzie (on the next trip down the court) and a baseline jumper by Joseph Taylor. Then Taylor gave LACC a lead with a fallaway jumper to give LACC a 19-17 lead.
But on this night, whenever one team took the lead, it seemed the other team was ready with an answer. This time it was SF Danny Mena who provided the answer, draining a three to put VC back ahead. Then Dillon sank a three to put VC ahead by 4. Following a pair of free throws by Simpson (on which Nunez was assessed his second foul of the game), Dillon drained another three to make it 26-21.
However, LA City wasn't about to let the lead get any larger. In fact, the Cubs quickly wiped out the entire lead when SG Torrance Tucker made a three and was fouled. He missed the free throw that would have made it a 4-point play, but PF David Cornwell grabbed the rebound and put it back for a basket to make it a 5-point play and tie the game at 26.
After that, LACC closed the half strongly and took a 4-point lead into the locker room. Gonzalez drained a jumper to put Ventura ahead, 28-26, but then LA City scored 8 of the last 10 points of the half to go ahead, 34-30. A nice pass from Cornwell to Gordon produced a score that put LACC ahead, 32-30, and Simpson scored on a putback in the final seconds of the half that put the Cubs ahead by 4 at the break.
But in this game, leads didn't seem to last long and as soon as the second half began, Ventura tied it up once again. Nunez scored on a post move on Ventura's first trip down the floor, and then Dillon stole the ball at midcourt, deflecting the ball to Gonzalez, who threw a long pass downcourt to Dillon for the lay-up to make it 34-34.
Then LA City pushed out to a 5-point lead, their first of two times they extended their lead to that margin. A putback by Simpson made it 36-34. Then a basket by Simpson on a feed from McKenzie and a basket by Cornwell on a feed from McKenzie, sandwiched around a single free throw by Nunez for Ventura, made it 40-35. LACC had a golden opportunity to extend their lead to 7, but after Cornwell grabbed a steal he went in uncontested and missed a dunk that would have made it 42-35.
After that, LA City held a short lead for the next few minutes, helped by a technical foul called on Ventura Head Coach Winslow. Finally, the Pirates rallied to tie the game at 50 on 4 points by SG David Van Someren. The first 2 came when Mena was fouled and shaken up driving to the basket; Van Someren stood in for him and made 2 free throws to make it 50-48 LACC. Then Van Someren grabbed a steal, was fouled and made both free throws to tie the game at 50.
As the game continued at a physical, half-court pace, LACC finally broke a 54-54 tie and pushed its lead back to 5 at 59-54 after an alley-oop pass from Gordon to Tucker, a free throw by McKenzie and a baseline jumper by SG Casey Gordon after a steal by Cornwell.
But then came the Ventura charge that gave them a lead they manged to hold - just barely - long enough to get the win. First, Dillon drove the lane for a basket to cut the lead to 3. Then Gonzalez scored on an inbounds play from Dillon to cut the margin to 1. And then Dillon drained a three to put Ventura ahead, 61-59. Though the outcome of the game was in doubt into the final seconds, Ventura led the rest of the way.
But LA City still had plenty of time - over 6 minutes - to overcome that 2-point deficit. However, Ventura never let that lead get away. Mena followed a Gonzalez miss with a rebound and drew a foul, the 5th on LACC's Clarence Matthews, with 5:27 left. Mena made 1 of the 2 free throws (the other was the last FT Ventura would miss in the game) to make it 62-59.
As the time wound down, neither team had an easy time scoring but Ventura continued to hold a narrow lead. A pair of free throws by Dillon pushed the Pirates' edge to 4-points at 66-62, the first time VC had a 2-possession lead in the second half. But then Simpson responded for LA City, scoring after a pass from McKenzie to make it 66-64 Ventura.
In the last two minutes, LA City had a pair of good chances to tie the game or take the lead. PG Everett Morgan missed a three with just over a minute left that would have put the Cubs ahead. And after a charging call on Gonzalez gave LACC the ball back, Simpson got the ball in the low post. But rather than take the ball to the basket, he tried to throw a pass along the baseline. The ball went through everyone and into the packed stands, giving Ventura possession.
Against the LACC press, Ventura managed to inbound the ball and advance it into the front court. Finally, LACC fouled Van Someren, who calmly sank a pair of free throws to make it 68-64 with 11 seconds left. On the restart, Ventura nearly stole the ball at midcourt, taking another 5.5 seconds off the clock. Finally LACC managed to get the ball into the frontcourt where Tucker tried a 3-pointer; Gordon caught the ball under the basket and laid it in for a 2-pointer to make it 68-66. But just 1 second remained on the clock.
Rather than risk inbounding the ball in the backcourt, Ventura's Mena threw a long pass for his cousin, Gonzalez, across the center line. Just as Gonzalez caught the ball, McKenzie fouled him hard. But by now the clock showed all zeroes, giving Ventura the win.
A little dazed by the foul, Gonzalez tried to get to his feet only to have Coach Winslow rush out on the court along with all the Ventura players and jump on him in celebration!
With the win, Ventura advances to its first state tournament since 1996, and the first since their program was reinstated after a 2-year absence in the late 1990's.
It was truly a team effort for Ventura in the win. Gonzalez led the way in scoring with 21 pts, while Dillon had 13 of his 19 pts in the second half. He also dished out 4 asts, grabbed 4 steals and committed just 1 turnover. Nunez had to deal with a huge, physical front line for LACC but managed 14 pts and 6 boards. Van Someren had 8 pts including 6/6 from the free throw line. And Mena had just 4 pts, but grabbed a team-high 7 rebs for the Pirates.
For LACC, it was the second straight year their season ended in a tough loss at home in the regional final. Simpson led the way for the Cubs, and except for that errant pass in the final seconds he had a career night with 24 pts on 10/14 shooting. Gordon added 13 pts on 6/9 from the floor. Cornwell had 9 pts, 9 rebs and 3 steals, while McKenzie had 8 pts, 8 rebs and 2 steals. For the game, the Cubs shot 52% from the floor, but only 50% from the free throw line, and that final stat ended up being the difference.
Now Ventura heads to San Diego for the state tournament. And after vanquishing LA City, things don't get any easier as they will face #1-ranked and undefeated Fresno in the state quarterfinals.
For LA City, it was not only the final game of the season but the final game in their home gym, affectionately known as the "Y-Nasium". Built in 1931, it was the oldest gym in the state according to LACC. Famous for its close quarters and overwhelming heat, the Y-Nasium was home for 27 Cub Conference Championship, a pair of state championships and a national title. The gym will be closed this summer and replaced by a new, state-of-the-art gym across campus as part of a campus-wide renovation plan.
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box score:
Saturday, March 5, 2005 - 7 pm
at the Venerable Y-Nasium on the campus of LA City College
Playoffs - Regional Finals
Ventura Pirates 68:
21-Charles Dillon, SF - 6/15 fg, 4/4 ft, 1 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl, 19 pts
22-Moses Gonzalez, PF - 7/15 fg, 7/7 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 21 pts
32-Jonathan Davis, PG - 3 reb, 4 ast, 0 pts
34-Gary Nunez, C - 6/12 fg, 2/4 ft, 6 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 14 pts
41-David Van Someren, SG - 1/3 fg, 6/6 ft, 3 reb, 2 stl, 8 pts
10-Kenji Rocket, G - 1/1 fg, 3 ast, 2 pts
25-Danny Mena, F - 1/2 fg, 1/2 ft, 7 reb, 2 ast, 4 pts
55-Djadji Daffe, C - 0 pts
team rebounds: 3
Totals: 22/48 fg (.458), 20/23 ft (.870), 26 reb, 17 ast, 1 blk, 8 stl, 68 pts
3-pt fg (4): Dillon 3, Mena
Technical Foul: Coach Winslow
Turnovers (12): Gonzalez 4, Davis 4, Nunez 2, Dillon, Mena
LA City Cubs 66:
2-Casey Gordon, SG - 6/9 fg, 3 reb, 3 ast, 13 pts
12-Everett Morgan, PG - 0/3 fg, 1/2 ft, 3 reb, 4 ast, 1 pt
13-David Cornwell, PF - 4/10 fg, 1/3 ft, 9 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 9 pts
30-Chad McKenzie, SF - 3/5 fg, 2/4 ft, 5 reb, 8 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 8 pts
33-Shawn Simpson, C - 10/14 fg, 4/5 ft, 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 24 pts
10-Torrance Tucker, G - 2/7 fg, 5 ast, 1 stl, 5 pts
20-Joseph Taylor, F - 2/4 fg, 0/2 ft, 7 reb, 1 blk, 4 pts
15-Clarence Matthews, C - 1/2 fg, 4 reb, 1 blk, 2 pts
team rebounds: 1
Totals: 28/54 fg (.519), 8/16 ft (.500), 37 reb, 22 ast, 5 blk, 6 stl, 66 pts
3-pt fg (2): Gordon, Tucker
Fouled Out: Matthews 5:27 left
Turnovers (15): Morgan 3, McKenzie 3, Simpson 3, Cornwell 2, Taylor 2, Gordon, Matthews
Halftime Score: LA City 34, Ventura 30
Updated Records: Ventura 25-4, LA City 27-4
