The VC men's basketball team built a big lead and made it stick in their opening game of the 2023-24 season in the We Play Hard Tournament in the Athletic Event Center. the Pirates defeated Riverside 76-65 Thursday evening. The Pirates led 48-20 at halftime and held off the Tigers in the second in the victory. Reese Widerburg scored 13 of his 16 points before intermission and Kai Johnson came off the bench to fill it up with 21 points to lead VC (1-0).
Caleb Geisendorfer converted Dominik Contreras' dime for three on the opening possession of the game to set the tone for the first half. Widerburg's first of four first-half triples made it 9-2 for Ventura and his second ended a five-point RCC run for a 12-7 VC advantage five minutes into play. Widerburg then hit another shot from range, then turned a steal into an assist for Blake Berry's lay-up to complete a 8-0 Pirate run for a 10-point margin.
A Riverside timeout temporarily stopped Ventura's momentum, but the Pirates soon recaptured the flow beginning with Caleb Gilbert's trey with 9:01 on the clock to put VC ahead 24-15. Johnson hit one of two free throws, then Gilbert scored two off a steal by Berry. Johnson had a steal and lay-up on the next possession at the 7:41 mark for a 29-15 lead, then he scored on the next possession to complete a 10-0 Pirate run. Contreras answered a Riverside score with a three and Widerburg netted a deuce, followed by a Johnson field goal and a Contreras three sandwiched around another RCC score for a 41-20 margin. The Pirates scored the final seven points of the half to hold a 48-20 lead at the break.
Riverside made a slow, steady comeback throughout most of the second half, but the Pirates were able to hold off the Tigers at key points to preserve the triumph. Johnson scored a pair of buckets when VC led 53-33 at the 14:22 mark, and the Tigers pulled to within 14 points, 57-43, midway through the period. Gilbert scored on a dunk to answer, with an assist by Johnson, and Contreras' jumper maintained the edge a minute later.
The Tigers narrowed the Pirate lead to single digits with 7:16 remaining, 61-52, but Mykayle McCoy hit a three to hold off another RCC run. When Riverside pulled to within 64-57 with under six minutes left, Widerburg and Johnson hit back-to-back long-range bombs to bump the lead back to 13. Contreras had another well-timed 3-pointer with 3:47 on the clock to hold the advantage at 12, 73-61, and Johnson wielded the dagger from three with 58 seconds remaining for the final 76-65 margin.
Contreras netted 14 points for the Pirates while Gilbert added 12. McCoy pulled in a game-high 10 rebounds and Rick Djouwe grabbed eight boards. Johnson handed out five assists and Widerburg dropped four dimes.
Ventura continues play in the We Play Hard Tournament on Friday Nov. 3. The docket concludes with VC hosting Saddleback at 6:00 pm after RCC plays San Diego Miramar at 2:00 pm and Antelope Valley takes on San Bernardino Valley at 4:00 pm.