Ventura Outshines Moorpark in Key WSC Game, 94-91

College scouts, fans, media--everyone came out to see the stars shine when Ventura College visited Moorpark on Wednesday night for a game between two of the top men’s basketball teams in the state.

Between them, fourth-ranked Ventura and seventh-ranked Moorpark boast three of the top players in the state in Lester Neal, Sam Crawford and Damian Wilson. Coaches from DePaul to Washington to USC were on hand to watch them, and they did not disappoint.

However, a few lesser lights beamed brightly for visiting Ventura, and that was the difference in Ventura’s 94-91 Western State Conference Northern Division victory.

Neal finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds, but Uba Satterfield hit a pair of important three-point shots midway through the second half and finished with 25 points.

Guard Jerry Dalton, left open by a sagging Moorpark defense, scored 18 points, and Calvin Curry added 12 to help Ventura (23-4, 3-0 in division play) strengthen its hold on first place in the Northern Division.

“I think you can put Uba in that category,” Ventura Coach Phil Mathews said of the basketball luminaries who dotted the floor. “Uba is overlooked. Our supporting cast did a very good job tonight.”

Moorpark’s offense had only two dimensions. But that’s like saying Michael Jackson can only sing and dance, because the two dimensions were Crawford and Wilson, and both were rather spectacular.

The 5-foot-7 Crawford scored 29 points, had 15 assists and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. He nearly had a triple-double at halftime with 13 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. Wilson scored 28 and made five of seven second-half shots.

However, Wilson picked up his fourth foul with eight minutes to play. He did not score thereafter, and Ventura, which had trailed for much of the second half, pulled away.

Moorpark (21-4, 1-1) led, 76-70, when Ventura’s Curry ignited a 9-0 run with a three-point basket just before the 10-minute mark.

Later, Neal twice rebounded his own missed shots for put-back baskets, the second of which gave Ventura an 89-81 lead. A three-point shot by Mike Waggoner pulled Moorpark within 89-88 at the 1:32 mark, but Neal answered with a short jump shot and Dalton made three of four free throws in the final 12 seconds.

“Coach, with eight minutes to go, told me the best thing to do was dominate the game,” Neal said.

Crawford respected Neal’s work inside. “He wasn’t just getting one shot, he was getting two,” Crawford said. “That hurts more than anything.”

Waggoner scored 11 and Sean Doyle added 10 for Moorpark.