Ventura Overwhelms Oxnard : Men’s basketball: Top-ranked Ventura extends its season-opening winning streak to 23 games, 113-87.

The dominance continues.

Once again showing that it should continue to be top-ranked in the state, the Ventura College men’s basketball team remained unbeaten with a 113-87 victory over Oxnard in a Western State Conference North Division game Wednesday night before a capacity crowd at Ventura.

The victory extended Ventura’s record season-opening winning streak to 23 games and pulled the Pirates to within six of the school’s single-season mark of 29.

It was also the first divisional game for each team this season. Ventura has won the division title eight consecutive times.

“It was a very unselfish night tonight,” said Philip Mathews, Ventura coach.

The Pirates distributed the ball so well that every one of their players scored and seven of them finished in double figures, including guards Shannon Taylor with 16 points and Rafer Alston with 15.

Ventura also forced 30 turnovers, 16 of them in the first half. Pirate forward Damian Cantrell, the former Santa Clara High standout, had four steals.

“They play take-away basketball and they took it away tonight,” said Ron McClurkin, the second-year Oxnard coach.

Oxnard led only once, on a reverse layup by Quincy Shannon that opened the scoring, but the Pirates began to stretch their lead five minutes into the first half.

With Ventura ahead, 27-19, midway through the first 20 minutes, the Pirates went on a 14-2 rampage sparked by Taylor, who scored a three-point basket and two free throws in that span, and by forward Hakeem Ward, who accounted for six of the points.

Ward, one of 10 freshmen on the team, finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.

Ventura worked the ball inside repeatedly and got plenty of easy baskets, including four dunks. The Pirates led by as many as 37 points (89-52) when Taylor sank a reverse dunk with 13 minutes 23 seconds left.

Oxnard forwards Amiri Johnson and Brandon Lee rallied the Condors late in the game, with Lee scoring six of his team’s last eight points. Johnson finished with a game-high 19 points and had eight rebounds. Lee had 18 points.

It was the first game for Johnson in several days after battling the flu and for guard Anthony Talley, who just returned to from Christmas vacation.

For Ventura, which scored 100 points for the 10th time this season, Gerald Zimmerman had 11 points and Jamal Cobbs added 10.