West Ranch Avoids the Upset
West Ranch 77, Ventura 59By Dave Rogahn
Ako Kaluna scored 35 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter as West Ranch finally pulled away from visiting Ventura to post a 77-59 win in the first round of the Southern Section Division 1A playoffs Friday night. With the victory, West Ranch reached the 20-win mark for the first time in school history.
But the game was a lot closer than the final score makes it look. Kaluna scored 11 points during a 16-0 run as the host Wildcats (20-6) finally pulled away from a plucky Ventura squad that entered the game with an 8-18 record but battled on even terms for more than three quarters.
It wasn't supposed to be this difficult for West Ranch, which won its first outright Foothill League championship this season after tying for the league title last year. The third-seeded Wildcats were widely expected to romp past Ventura, which received an at-large bid after finishing just 3-9 in the Channel League.
But for three quarters and change, Ventura (8-19) didn't play the part of the huge underdog. The Cougars fell behind early and trailed, 25-16, after one quarter, but made 10 of 13 shots (77%) in the second quarter to trail by just a point at the half, and tied the score at 57 after a 3-pointer by Stevie Ledesma early in the fourth quarter.
However, then came the 16-0 West Ranch run, led by the 6-7, 265-pound Kaluna. Cody Sanders actually started the run with a lay-up, and Kevin Harris hit a 3-point basket to push the Wildcat lead to double digits for the first time all night. But the Northern Arizona-bound Kaluna scored the other 11 points in the run and 14 for the final quarter.
When the game started, it looked like West Ranch would have little trouble, making its first three shots and jumping out to an early 7-2 lead. Ventura rallied to take an 11-10 lead after a 3-pointer by Ledesma and a steal & dunk by Trevor LaCount, and trailed by just a point at 17-16. But then West Ranch went on a quick 8-0 run, started by a 3-pointer from Zac Nuttall and highlighted by two consecutive steals by the Wildcats under the Ventura basket, and West Ranch held a 25-16 lead after one quarter.
That 9-point deficit, however, would not just be West Ranch's largest lead until the game's final 3:42, but it wouldn't last long. Ventura got a 3-pointer from Isaac Gilbert in the opening seconds of the second quarter, which set the tone for the period. Another Gilbert 3-pointer got the Cougars within two points at 28-26 and a 3-pointer by LaCount tied the score at 33. A steal by Mason McConkey led to a free throw by Houck that gave Ventura a 34-33 lead with 2:58 left in the first half.
The lead went back and forth the rest of the half, with West Ranch holding a 43-42 lead despite Ventura having shot 77% for the second quarter. And the lead went back and forth throughout the third quarter as well, with West Ranch taking a 56-54 lead when Kaluna scored in the final seconds. After Kaluna split two free throws for West Ranch to make it 57-54 early in the fourth quarter, Ledesma answered with a 3-pointer for Ventura to tie the score again at 57.
But after that, West Ranch finally pulled away, holding Ventura to just two more points, which came well after the game's outcome was decided. The 16-0 run put the Wildcats in control, as Ventura missed 10 of its last 11 shots while mixing in 5 turnovers over the last seven-plus minutes.
Sanders broke the 57-all tie with a lay-up, and Kaluna made two free throws with 6:08 left to make it 61-57. Kaluna made it 63-57 when he tipped in his own miss. Then when LaCount missed a shot, the rebound went long and Harris corralled it near midcourt, going to the floor. He managed to get the ball to Kaluna, however, and the 6-7 senior's lay-up with 4:31 left made it 65-57.
Harris added a 3-pointer with 3:42 left to push West Ranch's lead to 68-57, the largest advantage of the game for either team to that point. Kaluna added a lay-up with 2:48 left to make it 70-57. Then Kaluna knocked down a long 3-pointer with just over two minutes left to close out the run and wrap up West Ranch's win, making it 73-57.
For West Ranch, Kaluna finished with a game-high 35 points on 14-for-17 from the floor while adding a game-high 9 rebounds plus 3 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocked shots. Harris added 20 points, including 4 three-pointers, plus 6 rebounds, 6 steals and 3 assists. Nuttall came off the bench for 10 points and Sanders had 8 points plus 3 assists. Ryan Beddeo had just 2 points but dished out a game-high 9 assists.
For Ventura, LaCount had 18 points on 7-for-8 from the floor plus 5 rebounds, 3 assists, a block and a steal. Ledesma had 12 points on 4 three-pointers, plus 5 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Houck had 10 points. But Ventura had 27 turnovers for the game, and after shooting 67% in the first half ran out of steam in the final 7 minutes.
The win gives West Ranch its 20th victory for the first time in school history; the Wildcats finished 19-9 in 2007-08. Next Tuesday the Wildcats will be on the road to face the winner of tonight's game between Huntington Beach and El Ranch of Pico Rivera.
Box scoreFriday, February 15, 2013 - 7 pm
At West Ranch HS, Valencia
Div 1A Playoffs - First Round
Ventura Cougars 59:21-Mason Pendleton, PG - 2/3 fg, 4 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 4 pts
22-Stevie Ledesma, SF - 4/10 fg, 5 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 2 pf, 12 pts
33-Dustin Houck, SG - 4/10 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 10 pts
42-Tevin Krall, PF - 1/7 fg, 2/2 ft, 6 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 4 pts
44-Steven Davidson, C - 1/2 fg, 4 reb, 2 pts
41-Trevor LaCount, F - 7/8 fg, 3/4 ft, 5 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 18 pts
20-Trevor Garibay, G - 0/2 fg, 3 reb, 1 stl, 3 pf, 0 pts
23-Jack McKenzie, G - 0 pts
30-Isaac Gilbert, F - 2/4 fg, 3 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 6 pts
31-Evan Ajao, G - 0 pts
34-Willy Fallandy, F - 0/1 fg, 1 pf, 0 pts
40-Mason McConkey, C - 1 blk, 2 stl, 0 pts
24-Brian Andrews, G - 1/1 fg, 3 pts
32-Jackson Klein, F - 0/1 fg, 1 reb, 0 pts
team rebounds: 2
Totals: 22/49 fg (.449), 6/8 ft (.750), 34 reb, 18 ast, 4 blk, 9 stl, 13 pf, 59 pts
3-pt fg (9): Ledesma 4, Gilbert 2, Houck, LaCount, Andrews
Turnovers (27): Krall 7, LaCount 4, Pendleton 3, Ledesma 3, Houck 3, Garibay 2, Gilbert 2, Andrews 2, Klein
West Ranch Wildcats 77:1-Ryan Beddeo, PG - 1/5 fg, 2 reb, 9 ast, 2 stl, 1 pf, 2 pts
2-Ben Johnson, SF - 1/3 fg, 1 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 2 pts
11-Kyle Williams, PF - 0/2 fg, 2 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 0 pts
12-Ako Kaluna, C - 14/17 fg, 6/9 ft, 9 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk, 4 stl, 1 pf, 35 pts
21-Kevin Harris, SG - 7/20 fg, 2/3 ft, 6 reb, 3 ast, 6 stl, 1 pf, 20 pts
4-Cody Sanders, G - 3/6 fg, 1/1 ft, 1 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 8 pts
25-Zac Nuttall, G - 3/5 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 10 pts
33-Ben Davis, F - 0/1 fg, 1 stl, 0 pts
14-Izayah Doyle, C - 1 blk, 0 pts
5-Sean Bain, F - 1 reb, 0 pts
team rebounds: 3
Totals: 29/58 fg (.500), 11/15 ft (.733), 25 reb, 21 ast, 5 blk, 18 stl, 9 pf, 77 pts
3-pt fg (8): Harris 4, Nuttall 2, Kaluna, Sanders
Turnovers (12): Beddeo 7, Johnson 2, Kaluna, Nuttall, team
Score by Quarters:
Ventura--------16-26-12-05 = 59
West Ranch---25-18-13-21 = 77
Updated Records: West Ranch 20-6, Ventura 8-19
West Ranch went on a 16-0 run to break a 57-all tie early in the 4th quarter.