SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – James Reach had the hot hand. He already had 26 points for Santa Barbara City College as he drove down the lane. His finger-roll layup with one second remaining hit the back of the rim, then the front, and rolled out. The Vaqueros fouled the rebounder with 0.3 seconds left on the clock, and Ventura College escaped with a 61-57 win on Wednesday.
"I thought we had some pretty good looks yesterday," said head coach Devin Engebretsen. "We just missed some threes."
In the first half, Reach led the way for the Vaqueros with 12 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and added six rebounds. Kyle Haughy converted on all four of his free throws, grabbed three rebounds, and blocked two shots.
The Vaqueros held a 27-21 lead at halftime.
Santa Barbara had to adjust its strategy as key offensive piece Will Pace was in foul trouble early and eventually fouled out in the second half after tangling with Ventura's Bo Dolinsek.
They were also without Haughy down the stretch. The forward left the game in the first minute of the second half after Dolinsek's elbow opened a cut above Haughy's eye.
Both teams played rugged defense, with neither team recording a field goal in the final 1:53 of play.
"We played our best defensive game of conference so far," said Engebretsen. "I thought the guys played really hard. Losing our two bigs basically in the middle of the game put us in a bit of a bind with guys playing out of position."
Reach finished the game with 26 points, four 3-pointers, and seven rebounds. Nick Tjaden contributed six rebounds, seven assists, and a steal. Ramon Cota had 12 points and three rebounds.
"I thought James Reach played a really solid game for us offensively," said Engebretsen. "He knows going into these games that he's going to get a lot of the attention from the defense. He really took it upon himself to attack and try to get as many shots off as he could."
Engebretsen also praised the work of his bench. "I've got to tip my cap to all the guys coming off the bench—playing hard, playing as a unit, continuing to defend."
The Vaqueros are now 7-12 overall and 0-3 against conference opponents. They play again on Saturday, Jan. 18, against L.A. Pierce College in the Sports Pavilion at 5 p.m.
"We're looking forward to having one more home game this week," said Engebretsen. "Hopefully we can turn the tide and get a win against Pierce."
