State Community College Basketball Tournament : Ventura Defeats Saddleback, 76-72 : Wigington’s Steal, Layup Late in Game Make Difference

Leland Wigington scored 14 second-half points and made a key steal to lead Ventura College to a 76-72 victory over Saddleback Saturday night in the state community college men’s basketball championship at Loyola Marymount University.

Wigington had a chance to clinch the victory but missed the front end of a one-and-one with 20 seconds left and Ventura leading 74-72.

Saddleback’s Tony Villanueva got the rebound and passed to Tom Desiano near midcourt.

As Desiano turned to dribble upcourt, Wigington stole the ball and made a layup to give Ventura a 76-72 lead with eight seconds left.

Saddleback missed two three-point shots before time ran out.

Wigington, a 5-foot 6-inch guard, finished with 20 points and had 9 assists. He was voted the tournament’s most valuable player.

“This is a great win for our college,” said Philip Mathews, Ventura coach.

Ventura came back from a 42-36 deficit to take a 50-49 lead on a basket by Wigington with 13:46 left.

Maurice Pullum scored a game-high 29 points for Ventura, which shot 70% (14 of 20) from the field in the second half and 57% (26 of 46) in the game.

Ventura’s Steve Banales scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half.

He put Ventura ahead, 63-60, with 4:40 to play with a three-point basket. He made another three-pointer with 45 seconds left to give Ventura a 72-67 lead.

Ventura (31-4) ended its season on a 14-game winning steak.

Saddleback (27-8) was led by Vincent Smalls, who scored 19. Teammate Tom Desiano scored 16 and Scott Dwinell scored 15. Reserve Renny Ingram scored 10.

Ventura entered the final after beating Columbia, 102-92, in the quarterfinals and San Joaquin Delta, the state’s top-ranked team, 111-75, in the semifinals.

Saddleback reached the final with a 66-60 upset of Skyline in the quarterfinals and a 55-52 upset of Rancho Santiago in the semifinals.

Against Ventura, the Gauchos held a 29-17 rebounding edge.

“We should have beaten Ventura,” said Bill Brummel, Saddleback coach. “We wanted to run in the first half and then come out and slow it down in the second half. We got back on defense well all night, that’s why we led the state in defense.”

Saddleback gave up 58.9 points per game this season.

Saddleback appeared out of the game when Banales made the three-pointer that put Ventura ahead, 72-67, with 45 seconds left. But Ingram made a baseline 10-foot jump shot to cut the lead to 72-69 with 36 seconds left.

Saddleback’s Mike Minier then fouled Wigington. He made two free throws with 31 seconds left to put Ventura ahead, 74-69.

After a timeout, Ingram made a three-point-basket to cut the lead to 74-72 with 23 seconds left. Miner fouled Wigington again, who missed the free throw but made the steal and layup for the victory.