Pirate Men Easily Sink Corsairs

The VC men's basketball team brought out the long range guns Wednesday, sinking Santa Monica with a barrage of 3-pointers, easily defeating the Corsairs 102-67 at the Athletic Event Center. The Pirates (7-1) hit 15 of 32 shots from beyond the arc, nearly a 47 percent clip, including five in the opening 10 minutes of the game. Jerimiyah Smith was 8-9 from the floor en route to a game-high 22 points for VC and Kam'Ron Cigar was 3-5 from three in scoring 16.

Christian Aukuso and Jeremiah Wilson hit three's on the first two possessions for Ventura and Aukuso then hit one of two free throws for a 7-0 lead. The Corsairs came storming back, however, scoring the next eight points before Cigar gave VC the lead for good with another triple. Cigar and Wilson each sank another 3-pointer as the Pirates completed an 18-0 run to hold a 25-8 advantage midway through the first half.

Snookey Wigington assisted an Aukuso lay-up to extend the lead to 20 points, 31-11, and Wilson and Wigington made back-to-back three's to make it 47-21 with 2:34 remaining in the half. Ventura led 53-28 at intermission.

Smith went on a personal 7-2 run to open the second half, giving the Pirates a 30-point cushion, 60-30, barely a minute into play. VC hit their first eight shots coming out of the break, including another three from Wigington, to lead 71-32 with 15:40 on the clock. Smith made a pair of free shots at the 7:36 mark to stretch the lead to 41, 85-44, and two foul shots from Kevin Anigbogu handed the Pirates their biggest lead of the night, 90-48, with 5:49 remaining. Ventura coasted in to the finish with the 102-67 triumph.

Aukuso finished with 15 points and six rebounds while Wigington posted 14 points with eight assists and Wilson also netted 14. Smith added a team-high eight boards to his point total and Brown finished with nine points. Anigbogu scored six points with a pair of blocked shots defensively.

The Pirates next travel to the Hypland Classic in Riverside on Dec. 3, 4 and 6. The begin the tournament with a match-up against Mt. San Jacinto on Wednesday Dec. 3.