VENTURA TOURNAMENT : Thousand Oaks Races Past Gallant Nordhoff, 93-59

Anyone who sees the final score will nod knowingly and say, “I told you so.” But outmanned Nordhoff High played Thousand Oaks better than even for the first 2 1/2 quarters of a first-round game of the Ventura tournament Thursday before losing, 93-59.

Nordhoff (8-3) was on the verge of being blown out in the first quarter--trailing, 20-4, with two minutes left--but rallied behind guard Kevin Cochran to tie the score at halftime, 35-35.

Nordhoff actually led, 43-42, midway through the third quarter before Thousand Oaks’ up-tempo offense shifted into high gear and left the Rangers gasping.

The Lancers (7-1), who will play Camarillo in a semifinal game tonight at 8, went on an 18-4 run to take a 60-47 lead with 53 seconds left in the third period after Cochran’s basket had given Nordhoff the lead.

Senior guard Brian Capella (18 points) ignited the Lancer outburst with a follow shot of a Shane Graham miss and Chris Loll’s three-point play capped it.

Loll, who was held to two points in the second quarter and eight points in the first half, scored 10 during the charge, hitting four of five shots. The senior scored a game-high 25 points, one below his season average.

Leading, 63-52, at the end of the third quarter, Thousand Oaks went on a 20-4 run to start the final period to put the game away.

In other first-round games:

Lompoc 82, Channel Islands 77--Scott Morgan scored 10 of his 29 points in the third quarter to rescue Lompoc, which trailed, 49-35, at halftime. Channel Islands’ Stephane Brown had 24 points and 11 rebounds.

Camarillo 61, Ventura 58--David Harbour scored a game-high 25 points as the Scorpions outscored Ventura, 11-0, in the final four minutes.

With Camarillo trailing, 58-56, in the final minute, Harbour forced a Ventura turnover. Camarillo ran 40 seconds off the clock, then Harbour hit a three-point shot with 12 seconds left.

Buena 60, San Jose Pioneer 58--Christian Bove, who scored 13 of his game-high 19 points in the final period, missed a game-tying layup with one second left as Buena (5-3) hung on. Lance Fay led Buena with 15 points and teammate Matt Egan added 14.