Pirates drop championship game of Irvine Classic

The Ventura College men's basketball team dropped a 69-62 decision Friday to Cerritos in the championship game of the Irvine Valley Classic.  Snookey Wigington scored 13 points with three steals and a pair of assists and Christian Aukuso netted 13 points to lead the effort.

After Wigington scored the opening bucket, Cerritos took the upper hand, holding a small advantage for much of the first half. The Pirates, who trailed by as many as seven points, tied the game at 14 on Baron Bellamy's 3-pointer before Aukuso's jumper gave VC an 18-17 lead with 5:42 remaining before halftime. Jeremiah Wilson's lay-up followed by a four-point play from Bellamy gave Ventura a 33-27 edge at intermission.

Cerritos scored first in the second half before Wigington made back-to-back buckets to expand the VC advantage to 37-29. The Falcons came back, however, going on a 12-0 run to climb back into the game. Tong Tong's lay-up midway through the half put Ventura ahead 47-46, but the Falcons scored on the next possession to take a lead they would not relinquish.

Jerimiyah Smith joined Wigington and Aukuso in double figures with 11 points and he pulled down a team-best eight rebounds. Kam'Ron Cigar added six boards for VC and Aukuso pulled down five as the Pirates experienced their first defeat of the young season.

The Pirates (3-1) will host Los Angeles Southwest Tuesday Nov. 18 at 7:00 pm in their next outing.