Share: mail

The men’s basketball team (2-1) got off to a successful second place finish in the Ventura “We Play Hard” Tournament held November 7-9.

In the opening round, the Lancers defeated LA Valley College 61-38 behind a team high 13 points and 10 rebounds from 6-foot-7 center Taj Spencer.

“We have a deeper team than in previous seasons,” head coach Michael Swanegan said. “We don’t have to force minutes out of our top players like we did last year. This seems to be a group with some potential with a good blend of sophomores and freshmen.”

Returning 6-foot-6 power forward Bryce Clifton got the Lancers going with four straight baskets that opened a 13-3 early lead for PCC. The Lancers would end up leading 35-17 by halftime and were never threatened.

Clifton finished the game with 10 points, six rebounds and three assists. Returning sophomore point guard Jeffrey Dockett added 10 points and three assists to help lead the Lancers to victory.

The Lancers committed 14 steals overall, led by Dockett who recorded three steals.

“I was very impressed with our performance,” Swanegan said. “With only two returners and twelve new people we weren’t sure just how well they were going to play, but I was very impressed.”

In their second game of the tournament, the Lancers played host to Ventura College, a team ranked among the top 10 in the state pre-season poll. The Pirates jumped out to an early 13-6 advantage seven minutes into the contest, forcing the Lancers to shoot from the outside.

“We have to talk on the court more,” Dockett added. “We just have to do everything better. We’re good offensively.  We can score from different positions. We just have to play better defense and get out in transition.

At halftime the Lancers were down 33-29, but managed to hold the Pirates to only four points over the final four minutes of the half. The Lancers defense was the key to victory, forcing the Pirates into 30 turnovers in the game.

“Defensively we did a good job in the tournament,” Swanegan added. “Offensively we have to figure each other out because this was the first time we played as a team together. There are a few kinks we have to work out, but that’s what these early tournaments are for.”

As they did in the season-opening win over Los Angeles Valley, the team’s defense was impressive, forcing Ventura into 30 turnovers.

An All-Ventura Tournament Team selection, Dockett totaled 29 points, including four 3-pointers, and added five steals and four assists. Clifton made his presence felt on both ends of the court, recording 12 points, four rebounds, three steals and one block while connecting on six-of-seven field goal attempts. Freshman Adrian Miles added 11points, three rebounds and three assists.

In the championship loss to Antelope Valley College, the Lancers remarkable defense could not contain the Marauders, allowing them to score 53 first-half points.

Spencer recorded 15 points, five rebounds and two blocks as the Lancers’ most effective player. Dockett and Miles added 12 points each and guard Brandon Joseph finished with 10 points. Antelope Valley won its third Ventura title in the past four seasons, including a win over pre-season No. 1 Mt. San Jacinto in the tourney opener.

“We learned we have a lot of things to work on,” Spencer said. “We have to start off strong every time and be smarter with the ball.  We’re going to work on that in practice. We want to win more than anything.”

Follow: rssyoutubeinstagrammail

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.