Ventura Holds Fay in Check in 53-47 Win Over Buena

Ventura High basketball guard Chinh Tran was a reserve when the Cougars lost to Buena on Jan. 10 and he didn’t have much of an opportunity to guard high-scoring Lance Fay.

The following game, Tran earned a position in the starting lineup and he has remained there since.

Before a packed gymnasium at Ventura College on Wednesday night, the 5-foot-9 Tran was given plenty of opportunity to defend Fay and he seized it, leading a strong defensive effort that helped Ventura post a 53-47 Channel League win in overtime.

Tran combined with teammates Dan McCashin and Darien Roberts to frustrate Fay, who did not make a field goal until the second quarter and finished seven of 22 from the field.

Fay, a 6-1 guard who entered the game averaging a region-leading 30.9 points, finished with 19. Buena (16-4, 9-1 in league play), which blew an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter, dropped into a first-place tie with San Marcos.

“I thought we got some great defense from a couple of guys, and Tran set the tone,” Ventura Coach Dan Larson said.

Ventura (17-4, 7-3) slowed Buena’s streaking offense to a trot. Also, the Cougars patiently worked the ball in to players such as senior center Randy Martinez (18 points), sophomore forward Anthony Curtis (nine) and senior forward Curt Vaughan (eight points, nine rebounds).

“Ventura did a great job of controlling the tempo,” Buena Coach Glen Hannah said. “They did a good job of hounding Fay.”

Yet Buena still had an opportunity to win when the Bulldogs had possession during the final 1 minute 14 seconds of regulation with the score tied, 44-44. Buena, though, had difficulty getting the ball to Fay and turned it over with three seconds left.

In overtime, Buena missed five shots, including three hurried, off-balance attempts by Fay. Ventura made both ends of three one and ones, including four free throws by Larry Anter, and built a 50-44 lead with 56 seconds to play.

The Cougars, who did not attempt a field goal in overtime, made nine of 11 free throws in the extra period.

Buena, which made only nine of 32 field-goal attempts after halftime, finished 18 of 55 from the field. Ventura finished 20 of 39 from the field and made 11 of 16 free throws.

Ventura, which suffered through an earlier three-game league losing streak, posted its fifth consecutive victory.

“We’re a darn good team,” Larson said. “Even in the midst of a three-game losing streak, I still had confidence in us.”