Ventura Knocked Out of State Tournament in 70-68 Loss to Cypress

Some fans had been comparing the current Ventura College basketball team to the 1987 Pirates that won a state championship.

However, that comparison ended abruptly before 3,000 of those fans Saturday night as 10th-seeded Cypress upset Ventura, 70-68, in a Southern California regional playoff game at Ventura.

“This team (1990-91) actually had more talent, but that team got the job done to win it all,” Ventura Coach Phil Mathews said. “But we had a great year. There are a lot of teams that would have liked to have our record right now.”

Cypress (25-10), the second-place team from the Orange Empire League, advances to the final-eight round of the state tournament March 7-9, at UC Irvine’s Bren Events Center.

It wasn’t easy or pretty, but guards Sam Sabbara and Brian Kenney each hit the first shot of two-shot free-throw situations in the final six seconds of the contest to break a 68-68 tie and give the Chargers the victory.

A relentless 2-3 zone defense and the front-line presence of 6-foot-10 center Eric Pauley and 7-foot-1 forward Jim Waikle rattled the Pirates into altering their shots. Six of those shots were swatted down by the big men.

“We played intense defense,” Cypress Coach Don Johnson said, who is in his 24th season and recorded his 525th win.

Ventura (30-5), seeded second in the tournament and the undefeated champion of the Western State Conference Northern Division, shot only 28% in the first half as it played to a 34-28 deficit at intermission.

Freshman forward Calvin Curry, who went 0-for-10 in the first half, finally found the range and made five, three-point shots in the second half, including one with 45 seconds remaining that culminated a rally from a nine-point deficit and pushed the Pirates into a 68-68 tie.

DiJon Bernard had a game-high 21 points to lead Ventura. Curry added 17 points, all in the second half, and center Lester Neal had 17 points and grabbed a game-high 20 rebounds despite the decided height advantage of Cypress.

Pauley led Cypress with 16 points and guard Charles Lockard added 14.

* CANYONS FALLS: C14