Pirate men open season with solid victory
The VC men's basketball team opened the 2025-26 season with a solid 86-81 victory over visiting Saddleback in the We Play Hard Tournament presented by State Farm.Baron Bellamy led a balanced scoring attack with 15 points on the night, including a 4-6 night from beyond the 3-point arc. Christian Aikuso pulled in 11 rebounds and Snookey Wigington dished out eight assists in the victory.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
34 | 47 | 81 |
|
|
43 | 43 | 86 |
Team Stats
Saddleback
| Game Statistics | Saddleback | Ventura |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (28-64) | (30-63) |
| Field Goal % | 43.8% | 47.6% |
| Rebounds | 30 | 46 |
| Assists | 9 | 13 |
| Turnovers | 9 | 12 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 12 | 13 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 11 | 20 |
| Pts in the Paint | 32 | 36 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 5 | 4 |
| Bench Pts | 34 | 25 |
The VC men's basketball team opened the 2025-26 season with a solid 86-81 victory over visiting Saddleback in the We Play Hard Tournament presented by State Farm. Baron Bellamy led a balanced scoring attack with 15 points on the night, including a 4-6 night from beyond the 3-point arc. Christian Aukuso pulled in 11 rebounds and Snookey Wigington dished out eight assists in the victory.
Ventura led for most of the game, taking the lead for good, 17-14, on a 3-pointer from Kam'Ron Cigar with 11:57 remaining in the first half. Wigington, Jerimiyah Smith and Jeremiah Wilson made consecutive lay-ups three minutes later for a 6-0 run as Ventura distanced themselves from the Bobcats, 27-19. Wilson's dunk and a bucket by Tong Tong late in the first half led to a 43-34 advantage for the Pirates at intermission.
Wilson and Bellamy sandwiched triples around a Saddleback basket to start the second stanza, and Aukuso netted a deuce to expand the margin to 14 points, 51-37, two minutes into the period. Saddleback managed to keep the margin within arm's length from that point, but Ventura never let the Bobcats back within a single possession score down the stretch.
Smith, Aukuso and Cigar all netted 14 points in the game while Wigington added 10. Wilson scored nine for the Pirates (1-0). Kevin Anigbogu contributed eight rebounds as VC dominated the boards, 46-30.
Looking forward, the Ventura will host Riverside to close the We Play Hard Tournament presented by State Farm on Friday Oct. 31 at 7:00 pm. West Los Angeles and Saddleback will be featured in the early game at 5:00 pm at the Athletic Event Center.