VC Men Claim Big Road Win at Citrus

The Ventura College men's basketball team used a 15-0 run midway through the second half to claim a big 91-82 road win at Citrus College in Glendora Friday afternoon. Dayshone Henry led the way with another big performance taking just 26 field goal attempts to score 34 points with 14 rebounds. Timothy Turner netted 19 points with six boards and five assists and Donavan Williams had 16 points, five rebounds, four dimes and four steals. Shulton Tobin handed out five assists and Tone Patton pulled in seven rebounds for Ventura (8-4).

In a back-and-forth  first half, the Pirates were down 6-0 early before coming back to tie the game at 12. Henry's jumper off a Turner assists knotted the score at the 12:18 mark of the first half. Donavan had a steal and lay-up,followed by a three from Henry and Ventura had a 17-12 advantage a minute later. The Owls came back to go in front 30-25 at the 6:51 mark. Donavan hit a pair of free throws to tie things again at 32-32, and Henry scored for a 36-35 advantage with 3:27 on the clock. Citrus made consecutive three's to reestablish control, and the Pirates went into halftime with a 45-40 deficit.

The Owls extended their lead to seven on the opening possession of the second half before the Pirates came back with a 9-0 run. Thomas Dangerfield hit a 3-pointer followed by scores by Turner and Henry. Dayveon Bates cashed in Donavan's dime for two and VC led 49-47 with 17:53 remaining in the game. The teams exchanged scores with Citrus moving out to a 63-58 margin with 13:17 left to play. A minute later, the Pirates began to rev up, beginning  their decisive 15-0 run. Turner hit a lay-up with 11:59 on the clock and Henry followed with another close score. Donavan then assisted a Henry dunk as the Pirates took the lead for good, 64-63, at the 10:44 mark. Patton hit a jumper, and Turner netted seven straight points on a pair of lay-ups and a 3-pointer as the Ventura lead moved to double digits, 73-63, with 7:56 on the clock. Ventura was able to hold the Owls at arm's length the rest of the way, pulling put the 9-point win, 91-82.

Ventura next heads to Visalia for the Wyndham/Mannon Classic at the College of the Sequoias on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 20 and 21. The Pirates will play COS on Friday at 7:00 pm before battling Fresno City College on Saturday at 2:00 pm.