SBCC dug itself a big hole for the third straight game on Wednesday, then rallied to within four of Ventura before dropping an 88-76 men’s basketball decision at the Sports Pavilion.
The Vaqueros (11-14, 3-2 WSC North) surrendered a 20-4 first-half run and trailed the Pirates (18-6, 3-1) by 16 at halftime, 46-30. The lead grew to 58-37 on a 3-pointer by Alex Jamerson with 15:35 to play.
Santa Barbara went on a 27-10 burst and pulled within four, 68-64, on a 3-pointer by Brandon Greene at the 7:44 mark. Ventura scored the next five points, however, and the lead never got below nine the rest of the way.
Freshman guard David Lane scored 26 points with nine assists, four rebounds and two steals while Lucky Teeguarden and Richard Somdah tossed in 17 apiece. Lane hit 8-15 from the field and was a perfect 9-9 from the free-throw line. Somdah led all rebounders with seven.
Ventura hit 61.8 percent from the field, compared to 41.3 for SBCC.
“We had a stretch in the first half where we failed to make some defensive rotations and that resulted in layups,” said Vaquero coach Morris Hodges. “In the second half, we made a nice run to get back in it. Our inability to execute against the press — I think there were three turnovers where we didn’t get organized — led to a couple of easy buckets.
“We dug a hole for ourselves and made a nice run. We just couldn’t get over the hump.”
SBCC completes the first round of WSC North play on Saturday at Moorpark.
