The energy that always seemed to fill the Ventura College Athletic Center was nowhere to be seen by either the fans or the team on Saturday night when the No. 2 Pirates lost to the No.10 San Bernardino Valley College Wolverines, as they fell 69-68 in a thriller.

The Wolverines were led by center Jerome Habel, with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while guard Jamar Smith chipped in with 19 points. The Pirates leading scorers were guard Charles Dillon with 16 points, and forward Danny Tavares with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Throughout the game, the Pirates had constant trouble on the offensive end. They missed lay-ups and did a terrible job at the free-throw line by missing a total of 12 in the state regional finals game.

“The difference in the game could have very well been the battle at the free-throw line,” said Ventura College’s Coach Greg Winslow. “Both teams played a very, very good game, but at the end (San Bernardino) was able to play a better game.”

The Pirates were down as much as 18 points in the second half with ten and a half minutes to play, but they made a comeback with some 3-pointers made by both guard Hylas Smith, who had nine points in the game, and guard David Van Someren, who contributed 12 points.

The Wolverines’ lead dwindled down to 3 when the score was 62-59 with one minute left to play in the game. After that, Ventura relied on points from the free-throw line. Dillon made a desperate 3-pointer with only 6 seconds left to play, but, unfortunately, the shot did not benefit Ventura, since the game was already out of reach.

“If we had just one more minute, I think we could have beat them,” said Winslow. “We made a comeback, but we were just unable to get over the hump.”

This game also reunited the Wolverines Head Coach Phil Matthews with his former team.

“I thought it was an evenly matched game by both teams,” said Matthews. “It was just hard facing VC. I still root for them every time they play, just only when they are not playing us.”