COLLEGE BASKETBALL MOORPARK TOURNAMENT : Langston’s Nifty Defensive Play Propels Ventura to Title

It was the defensive play of the game by a team that prides itself on defense.

And it keyed Ventura College’s 90-79 victory over Compton in the Moorpark tournament championship game Friday night.

Ventura held a precarious 82-79 lead with two minutes to play when the Pirates’ Stephane Brown had his short jump shot blocked. Compton came up with the loose ball and made an outlet pass down court to a streaking George LeDay.

LeDay, who scored 11 points off the bench, including two baskets on thunderous dunks, appeared to be winding up for another when Ventura point guard Vince Langston angled in behind him, stole the ball and fired it up court to Brown, whose layup gave Ventura a five-point lead.

Kurt Smith, who scored a game-high 30 points, missed a three-point shot for Compton, and Ventura’s Reggie Phillips hit a pair of free throws for an 86-79 lead with 1:20 left.

Compton missed three more three-point attempts, and Ventura converted four free throws in the final minute to give the Pirates their first Moorpark tournament title.

“They got tired and we got tired down the stretch,” Ventura Coach Philip Mathews said. “But we held on this time.”

Compton (7-3) had a height advantage over Ventura at every position, but the Pirates made up for it with a pressing defense that forced 19 turnovers, 12 in the second half.

“We didn’t worry about their size,” Mathews said. “Just about every team we play is going to have an advantage over us in that department. We just have to make up for it with speed and quickness.”

Freshman center Michael Tate had a team-high 17 points and a game-high 19 rebounds for Ventura (9-1), and Brown and Derrick Pugh each added 15 points for the Pirates. Langston (10 points, 11 assists) was named the tournament’s most valuable player.

Ventura led, 33-26, with 3:42 left in the first half after a Jabari Anderson jump shot, but Compton went on a 15-4 run and took a 41-37 lead at intermission.