Ventura Beats Rancho Santiago to Win Pasadena Tournament

Ventura, which defeated its first two Pasadena Tournament opponents by an average of 26.5 points, got all it could handle from two-time defending State champion Rancho Santiago in the championship game Saturday night before winning, 69-61.

Rancho Santiago (10-5) led, 56-54, with just over four minutes to play, but Ventura scored the next six points to take a 60-56 lead with 2 1/2 minutes left.

Rancho Santiago closed to 60-58 on a layup by Rick Swanwick (12 points and nine rebounds), but Ventura (14-3) got a jumper from Lamarr Smith and four pressure free throws by Vince Langston to seal the victory.

Ruben Oronoz had 15 points and Eric Dahl added 13 for Rancho Santiago, which had won the tournament the last two years.