Pirates split two-day trip to Ventura County

VENTURA – A two-day trip to Ventura County just before Thanksgiving break came to a close with the Pirates splitting its two games against a pair of Southern California opponents.

The Pirates picked up a 67-64 victory at Moorpark College on Tuesday but suffered a 79-74 loss at Ventura College on Wednesday.

At Moorpark, PC trailed the Raiders 48-40 midway through the second half but put together a 12-0 run to jump out in front 52-48 with 10:35 to play. Moorpark would eventually tie up the game at 61-61 with 3:04 left. But Julio Phipps' layup put the Pirates ahead for good.

Cameron Walker's free throws with 54 seconds remaining extended the PC lead to 67-63 and secured the win for the Pirates.

Phipps posted a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Mylo Santos contributed a team-high 15 points off the bench and Assas Madassalia added 8 points.

Porterville couldn't duplicate the result on the following night at Ventura. PC led 41-37 at halftime but couldn't hang on for the win.

Trailing 74-69 late, Justin Sabater nailed a three-pointer to get PC within two points at 74-72 with 1:11 left in the contest. But Porterville would get no closer.

Walker scored a game-high 23 points and added 5 Assists and 4 rebounds. Kiya McQueen added 12 points and Mylo Santos totaled 10 points.

The Ventura loss snapped Porterville's three-game winning streak and dropped the Pirates to 4-3 overall. PC returns to action on Tuesday (Nov. 29) when it hosts Cerro Coso Community College in a 6 p.m. non-conference game.