Balanced Effort Leads Ventura in We Play Hard Tourney

The VC men's basketball team had five players score in double figures and they shot 58 percent from the floor overall in defeating Antelope Valley 95-78 Saturday afternoon in the finale of the We Play Hard Tournament. Adrian McIntyre led the way with 23 points on 9-11 shooting, 4-6 from three, and Marcus Watson netted 20 for Ventura (2-1). Anthony Garza scored 16 with a team-high nine rebounds while Kai Johnson and Aaron Dawoodjee scored 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Garza hit a pair of field goals in the first two minutes, and McIntyre followed with a drive to the hoop as the Pirates opened up a 6-0 lead. Dawoodjee and McIntyre both hit from range after a Marauder bucket to make in 12-2 less than four minutes into the contest. AVC came back to within 14-8 before a field goal by Michael Noulowe and two three's from McIntyre made it 22-8 at the 11:00 mark.

After another McIntyre triple, Garza scored on a fast break dunk off a steal and assist by McIntyre. Garza was fouled hard, and AVC was hit with a flagrant foul. Garza made on of two free shots, and on the ensuing possession, Garza dunked again, giving him a 5-point possession and the Pirates a 30-10 advantage. Watson's drive and deuce extended the lead to 39-17, and Johnson's triple made it 42-19 with 6:16 remaining in the first half. McIntyre hit a lay-up, Johnson hit a charity shot, and Dawoodjee scored a lay-up as the margin swelled to 28 points, 47-19, with 4:31 on the clock. Dawoodjee hit another shot from beyond the arc and Johnson connected with another jumper and Ventura led 55-28 at halftime.

Ventura maintained its advantage through the first part of the second half, and Garza made a field goal at the 11:54 mark to give the Pirates their biggest lead, 73-44. At that point, Antelope Valley went on a 15-3 run over the next six minutes to close to within 74-59. Noulowe stopped the run with a lay-up, and Watson scored six of VC's next eight points to make it 86-63. Johnson hit another bucket, followed by a dunk from McIntyre to extend the lead back to 27 points, 90-63, with 3:01 remaining. Ventura rode the wave into the finish for the 95-78 victory.

Dawoodjee and Johnson each pulled in six rebounds in the game while McIntyre and Noulowe recorded five boards apiece. McIntyre also added three assists and a pair of steals.

Ventura returns to the court on Thursday Nov. 10 against Cerritos at the Irvine Valley Classic.