State JC Basketball Final : Wigington Leads Ventura Win Over Saddleback, 76-72

Leland Wigington scored 14 second-half points and had a key steal as he led Ventura College to a 76-72 victory over Saddleback Saturday night to win the State community college men’s basketball championship at Loyola Marymount.

Wigington had a chance to clinch the victory but missed the front end of a one-and-one with 15 seconds left and Ventura leading 74-72.

Tony Villanueva got the rebound for Saddleback and passed to Tom Desiano near halfcourt.

As Desiano turned to dribble up court, Wigington stole the ball and made a layup to give Ventura a 76-72 lead with eight seconds left.

Saddleback missed two three-point attempts as time ran out.

Wigington, a 5-6 guard who finished with 20 points and had 9 assists, was voted the most valuable player in the tournament.

“This is a great win for our college,” Ventura Coach Philip Mathews said. “At first it was dream, now it’s reality and I’m just glade it happened.”

Ventura took the lead for the first time since early in the game, 50-49, on a basket by Wigington with 13:46 left.

Maurice Pullum scored a game-high 29 points for Ventura, which shot 70% (14 of 20) in the second half and 57% (26 of 46) for the game.

Steve Banales scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half for Ventura (31-4), which ends the season on a 14-game winning steak.

He put Ventura ahead, 63-60, with 4:40 to play with a three-point basket. He made another three-pointer with 45 seconds left to put Ventura ahead, 72-67.

Saddleback (27-8) was led by Vincent Smalls who scored 19 points. Teammate Tom Desiano scored 16 and Scott Dwinell 15.