Dogged Ventura Press Crushes Cuesta in One-Sided WSC North Division Opener

What had been a relatively close game in the first half turned into a landslide as the Ventura College men’s basketball team hammered Cuesta, 98-54, in a Western State Conference North Division opener Wednesday night at Ventura.

The Pirates (25-1), the state’s top-ranked team, used a tenacious full-court press to force Cuesta (5-17) into 35 turnovers.

“They are not a great ball-handling team, and we knew that coming in,” Ventura Coach Philip Mathews said. “I think we had a great defensive effort in the second half.”

After leading at the half, 41-29, the Pirates went on a 28-12 run to start the second half and put away Cuesta.

Freshman forward Brandon Jessie led the attack with 14 second-half points, including a three-point basket. He finished with a game-high 26 points and 13 rebounds. The point total matched his career high.

Still, Mathews, who is often critical of his players even in victory, saw room for improvement in Jessie.

“He’s standing around too much,” Mathews said. “If he plays like he’s supposed to play, it’s not going to be fair.”

For Cuesta Coach Rusty Blair, what did not appear fair was Ventura’s trapping press, particularly in the second half when the Pirates had the game well in hand.

“I don’t think he should have been pressing us full-court when we’re down by 40 points,” Blair said.

Mathews defended his strategy, saying that the style of play was vintage Ventura.

“It doesn’t matter (what the score is),” Mathews said. “That’s the way we play. We press with our subs in the game. I’m not going to tell my kids to change.”

The Pirates executed the press almost flawlessly, repeatedly harassing and frustrating the Cougars. Cuesta got off only 20 shots in the second half and 39 in the game.

Cuesta was able to stay with the Pirates for the first six minutes, but Ventura gradually pulled away.

The Cougars tried to slow the game in the first half with a 2-3 zone defense, but nothing worked in the second half. Ventura either penetrated easily for layups and close-range shots, or hit from the outside when the Cuesta defense collapsed.

Guards Stephane Brown and Donyhel Johnson scored 14 and 13 points for the Pirates. Brown also had 11 assists, and Johnson had five steals.

Forward Jared Lintner led Cuesta with 12 points.

The Pirates had a chance to reach the 100-point plateau, but Reggie Butts missed a breakaway dunk attempt with about 10 seconds to play. Ventura has not scored 100 points in a game this season.

“He’s going to pay for that in practice tomorrow,” Mathews said, laughing.