Ventura, Canyons Brace for Title Games

Winning the Southern California regional of the men’s state junior college basketball tournament and advancing to the final eight figures to be a tall order for Ventura College and double trouble for Canyons.

Ventura (30-4) will meet Cypress (24-10) and its 6-foot-10 center, Eric Pauley, at 7 tonight in the Ventura gym.

Canyons (21-12) will travel to Long Beach City (29-4) where it will face the Vikings’ double-barrel threat of guard Rod Goodman and forward Terry Nelson in another 7 p.m. game.

The winners will advance to the state tournament March 7-9 at UC Irvine.

Ventura is favored, Canyons is not. But both teams come in on a roll. Ventura, which won a state championship in 1987, has won 16 in a row. Canyons has a school-record streak of 11 consecutive wins.

Control of the key will be key in the Ventura-Cypress matchup. The Chargers have Pauley, who is being recruited by several Division I top 20 schools, but Ventura counters with Lester Neal, who at a muscular 6-6 is one of the top frontcourt players in the state.

“Lester has been playing against bigger guys all year,” said Phil Mathews, Ventura’s coach. “Pauley poses a problem because he’s 6-10, but Lester is going to pose a big problem for him too.”

Pauley had 24 points and 11 rebounds in Cypress’ 75-60 second-round win over Antelope Valley. Neal had 15 points and 12 rebounds in Ventura’s 88-73 decision over Fullerton.

The difference probably will be made by the supporting casts. Against Antelope Valley, guard Charles Lockard scored 21 points for Cypress and point guard Brian Kenney had 18.

Ventura guard DiJon Bernard scored a game-high 31 points against Fullerton, which sagged inside in an effort to shut down Neal. Forward Uba Satterfield added 21 for the Pirates.

Balance is also required for Canyons, which substitutes and plays defense at a fast and furious pace. In a 100-75 second-round win over Grossmont, the Cougars forced 33 turnovers and reserves scored 38 points.

“There’s always something positive coming from our bench,” Canyons Coach Lee Smelser said.

Long Beach’s Nelson and Goodman, co-most valuable players of the South Coast Conference, figure to be bounced between defenders like pinballs.

“We’re playing pretty good,” Smelser said. “We just hope it continues at least one more game.”