JUNIOR COLLEGE BASKETBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT : Ventura Not Caught Up in Rankings

Ventura College men’s basketball Coach Philip Mathews will be the first to admit that West Valley of Saratoga deserves to be favored in the state junior college championships that begin today at 2 p.m. at San Jose State’s Events Center.

But Mathews adds that the best team doesn’t always win the tournament.

“West Valley was ranked number one in the state (at the end of the regular season) and they probably have the most talent of any team in the tournament,” Mathews said. “But I’ve told the guys that the most talented team doesn’t always win this thing.”

Before Mathews and Ventura start concerning themselves with West Valley (29-2), there is more immediate business at hand. Ventura (32-4) will play Lassen (26-8) of Susanville in a quarterfinal at 4.

Lassen has won 15 of its past 16 games. The Cougars defeated Canada, 80-74, in the final round of the Northern California regional.

Chris Yard, a 6-foot-6 center, has team-high averages of 18.4 points and 9.7 rebounds. Swingman Ronal Earp averages 16 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists, and point guard John Sullivan is averaging 6.1 assists and 2.2 steals.

Ventura struggled in the first two rounds of the Southern California regional before beating Saddleback, 86-72, in the final. The Pirates led by 28 points at one juncture in the second half.

“We shot well in that game,” Mathews said. “If we play well offensively, we’re really tough to beat because we play pretty good defense.”

Pretty good defense?

Stifling or suffocating is more like it.

The Pirates have won 17 consecutive games and a tenacious full-court press has been a major factor.

Ventura, the state champion in 1987, is led by Reggie Phillips, Michael Tate and Derrick Pugh.

Phillips averaged a team-high 13.8 points during the regular season.

Tate, a 6-5 center, averaged 11.3 points and 7.6 rebounds. He has 40 points and 38 rebounds in three postseason games.

Pugh, the Western State Conference North Division player of the year, averaged 7.7 points and a team-high 7.9 rebounds and might be the Pirates’ best defender.

Reserve Lamarr Smith has averaged 12.7 points a game for the Pirates in the playoffs.

If Ventura wins today, the Pirates will play the winner of the game between Cerritos (30-4) and Columbia (29-7) in a semifinal Friday at 6 p.m.

West Valley, which will play Compton (28-5) at 8 tonight, won its three Northern California regional games by an average of 37 points. All of the Vikings’ starters are being recruited by NCAA Division I schools.