The VC men's basketball team came up short Wednesday against Saddleback, falling 68-55 on the first day of the Riverside City College Tournament. Kai Johnson came off the bench to score 12 points to lead the way while Carter Alexander and Reese Widerburg each contributed 11. Caleb Gilbert netted eight points for the Pirates, who had an off shooting day following the long trip to the Inland Empire.
The Bobcats took control of the game midway through the first half, producing a 15-3 run against the Pirates over an eight minute span of game time. Widerburg hit a pair of free throws to pull Ventura to within 9-7 with 15:28 left in the first half, and Johnson's charity tosses at the 6:57 mark made it 24-12 for Saddleback. VC faced their largest deficit of 16 points at halftime, 38-22.
Ventura (4-7) was unable to make much headway against the Bobcats in the second half. Alexander made a pair of lay-ups early to cut the deficit to 40-26, and Dominik Contreras' two maintained the margin at the 14:44 mark. Contreras made another easy deuce for a 47-34 deficit with 11:26 on the clock before Saddleback scored five straight points. Johnson completed a 3-point play with five minutes remaining to pull VC to within 59-45 and Gilbert's lay-up on the next possession answered a Bobcat score. Ventura outscored Saddleback 8-4 down the stretch to set the final margin.
Mykayle McCoy had a team-best six rebounds and Alexander grabbed five boards. Blake Berry handed out three assists and Widerburg pulled in three steals for Ventura.
The Pirates next take on host Riverside on Thursday Dec. 7 at 6:00 pm.