Ventura dominates boards in 77-61 victory

Ventura outrebounded SBCC 39-19 on Saturday night and hit 13-16 free throws on the way to a 77-61 WSC North men's basketball win at the Sports Pavilion.

Thomas Walker led the Vaqueros (4-18, 0-10) with 20 points on 9-15 shooting. Toure Atwater scored all 15 of his points in the second half on 7-9 shooting for the Pirates (10-16, 3-7). Ventura won the second half 46-35 thanks to a 56.7 to 41.4 percent shooting advantage.

Walker, a 6-7 sophomore from Aliso Niguel High, has 55 points in his last three games for an average of 18.3.

The Vaqueros fell behind 17-6 and 24-12 in the opening half, then rallied within five at the break (31-26) on a 3-pointer by Justin Holden and an 18-foot jumper by Julian Lofton.

"We only had three field goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half," said coach Morris Hodges. "Their offensive boards in the second half really hurt. It was a combination of things in the second half – our inability to put the ball in the bucket and our defense got a little more porous."

The visitors opened the second half on a 14-5 run that boosted the lead to 45-31. Atwater got hot at that point, hitting five straight field goals and scoring 11 points in a four-minute span as the Pirates expanded the lead to 61-38 on a follow shot by Vondel Faniel.

Faniel had nine points and six rebounds, including five on offense. The Pirates won the offensive board battle, 15-6.

SBCC will host Hancock in its final home game on Wednesday at 5 p.m.