Despite a Key Loss, Ventura Still Winning

The high quality of the Ventura men’s basketball team was reinforced again last week.

The Pirates beat Cerritos, 83-79, in three overtimes in the championship game of the Hancock tournament for their 19th consecutive victory. Ventura (19-1), ranked No. 1 in the state, survived against Cerritos, ranked No. 3, without its best player, Brandon Jessie.

Jessie, a 6-foot-5 sophomore forward, was benched by Coach Philip Mathews for missing the team’s 11:30 curfew the night before. Jessie, who leads the team with a 22.8-point average, was the most valuable player in three of the previous four tournaments in which Ventura participated this season.

Alfred Kennedy, a 6-9 sophomore forward, also was disciplined.

JUNIOR COLLEGES

CFL or Bust

One of the most important football tests for Gil Carrillo, the workhorse running back at Moorpark the past two seasons, is around the corner.

Carrillo (5-11, 195 pounds) will participate in a tryout with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League on Jan. 13 at Golden West College.

“I’m very excited,” Carrillo said. “I can’t wait. I’ll definitely be ready.”

Carrillo, the two-time Western State Conference North Division offensive player or co-player of the year, rushed for 2,287 yards and scored 23 touchdowns as a Raider.

Carrillo has no college eligibility because he attended CS Northridge two years on a track scholarship.

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Another Raider looking for a new place to play is quarterback Todd Preston.

The former Westlake High standout, who redshirted at Cal in 1991 before playing the past two seasons at Moorpark, is on a two-stop recruiting trip this week.

Preston visited Eastern Illinois on Wednesday and will visit Memphis State on Friday. They are the only Division I schools to contact him.

Preston (6-2, 195) was an All-Western State Conference North Division first-team selection in 1993 after passing for 1,651 yards and 19 touchdowns in the regular season.

CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE

Even-Handed Tack

Chris Yard, a 6-foot-6 forward, is right-handed. But he scores so often with his left hand that many observers assume he is ambidextrous.

But get the ball to Yard inside the key and he is a threat with either hand. He scored a career-high 30 points against Buffalo on Tuesday night.

Many games he scores the majority of his points with left-handed layups and hooks.

Despite routinely giving away several inches, Yard is shooting 51.1%--more than three percentage points higher than the next-best Northridge starter.

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The Northridge men’s basketball team doesn’t have a great winning percentage--the Matadors are 2-10--but it has an impressive grade-point average. During the fall semester, Northridge players combined for an average GPA of 3.18 out of a possible 4.0. Shane O’Doherty, a junior, earned straight A’s. Ozan Korkut had all A’s with the exception of one A-minus. In all, nine of the 13 players were at 3.06 or better.

CAL LUTHERAN

One Victory at a Time

Now that the Kingsmen (10-0) have set school records for consecutive victories and best start, Coach Mike Dunlap is trying to ease pressure by suggesting that the players focus on winning a third consecutive Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference basketball title.

“We need to concentrate on playing good basketball every game, and getting ready for conference,” he said. “If we happen to lose, it’s not going to be a big deal as long as we play well.”

THE MASTER’S

Better All the Time

Although the victories continue to add up for Mustangs (13-3), first-year Coach Bill Oates seems to be more concerned with his basketball team’s continual improvement.

“We’re really just concentrating on improving each game,” Oates said. “If we continue to do that, everything else should fall into place.”

Mustang sophomore James Mosley doesn’t disagree with Oates’ philosophy, but he is looking to go on another substantial winning streak.

Cal State Bakersfield, defending NCAA Division II champion, snapped Master’s seven-game winning streak last week, but the Mustangs have since won two in a row.

“We want to use this home stand to get another good streak going,” Mosley said. “That’s important to us.”