VENTURA TOURNAMENT : Camarillo Takes Its Time En Route to 48-38 Victory

Usually, the Camarillo High boys’ basketball team is an up-tempo scoring machine. However, the absence of four of his top eight players has forced Coach John Harbour to give the Scorpions a strange new look.

Even though it didn’t look like the Camarillo of old, the slow-down, ball-control offensive scheme worked well Friday night as the Scorpions claimed third place in the Ventura tournament with a 48-38 victory over Newbury Park.

Newbury Park (6-5) forced Camarillo’s hand with a tight, match-up zone defense and a distinct height advantage.

The game was close most of the way, Camarillo (9-3) holding a tenuous 33-31 lead at the start of the fourth quarter. Newbury Park Coach Greg Ropes switched to a man-to-man defense at that point, allowing Camarillo guard David Harbour to break loose for 13 of his game-high 28 points to help the Scorpions outscore the Panthers, 15-7, in the final eight minutes.

“Our players were really disciplined, and they showed a lot of self-sacrifice,” John Harbour said. Six-foot-six center Kevin Loveall did most of the damage for Newbury Park, scoring 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.

The slow-down offense also forced Camarillo to be selective with its shot attempts. The Scorpions shot 59% from the field in the first half and 47% for the game. Newbury Park shot only 30%.

In another tournament game:

Thousand Oaks 65, Ventura 62--The Lancers used a 12-6 run in the fourth quarter to secure the consolation championship. Guard Scott Peterson scored eight of his 16 points in the period for Thousand Oaks (6-5).

Center Mike Sandlin had a team-high 17 points for Thousand Oaks and forward Chris Loll added 12. Forward Dusty Lysobey had seven points and 10 rebounds.