March 2007 Archives

The orange is starting to filter in...

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Ohlone is pulling away from Antelope Valley, 66-56, with 5:06 left as the orange shirts of Ventura fans begin to filter in. Some of the mainstays, like the Sue Gilmore and the Eaton and Rowland families have been here for more than an hour.

Former Ventura coach Phil Mathews is also here. He actually had to pay to get into the building because he didn't have his Hall of Fame pass on him.

Live from Fresno...

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The state's governing body, the Commission on Athletics, will be broadcasting the Great Eight live continuously on its Website — http://www.coasports.org — beginning at 12:30 p.m. today.

Yours truly will be doing the color commentary for the Ventura College games.

Today's state quarterfinal schedule:

1 p.m. — Antelope Valley-Ohlone
3 p.m. — Ventura-Yuba
5 p.m. — Saddleback-West Hills
7 p.m. — Compton-Fresno

If you have trouble finding the link, go here:

http://www.coasports.org/broadcasts/

Shootaround

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FRESNO -- We're here live in Selland Arena for the morning shootarounds.

Yuba has come and gone.Ventura's quarterfinal opponents looked long and rangy, especially 7-footer Xavier Crawford.

The Pirates are now on the court, going through drills to adjust to the arena setting.

"It's different," said sophomore Anthony Pimble, "like changing states."

It wasn't the prettiest set of workouts. Both teams struggled in the new venue. Pimble, who's made 27 of 28 free throws in the playoffs, missed his first one well short and shooter Thomas Young missed his first six shots.

Good news for the Pirates meant star forward Danny Tavares, who had some tightness in a hamstring in his final practice in Ventura, looked good and guard Robert Wright had no ill effects from an emergency tooth extraction Tuesday.

Ventura coach Greg Winslow, who went to Fresno State, showed his 12-year-old son Kellen the fifth row seat where he was part of the Bulldogs' Red Wave. Kellen hit a series of shots during the shootaround.

The teams toured the facility and left confident.

"We just have to work hard," said Pimble.

Great Eight breakdown

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So, I've spent the last couple of days trying to piece together how the coaches around the state see this tournament.

I see that 1 p.m. Antelope-Ohlone game as the matchup of the two favorites, that 5 p.m. Saddleback-West Hills game as a facinating chess match of two teams that could really be spoilers, Yuba and Compton as the two dangerous teams with the momentum to blow right through this weekend. Ventura has two players that can carry them to Sunday. Fresno has the home crowd.

Click below to read my full capsules on all eight teams:

Great Eight matchups

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It's moving day in the Great Eight, as the teams still competing for the California Community College men's basketball state championship travel to Fresno. Looking for some sort of clue on how this weekend will

Nov. 17: Antelope Valley 61, Saddleback 58
Nov. 24: Ventura 72, Antelope Valley 67
Dec. 1: Yuba 70, West Hills 60
Dec. 2: Fresno 86, Yuba 83
Dec. 12: Ventura 55, West Hills 52
Dec. 30: Compton 73, Ventura 58
Jan. 24: West Hills 100, Fresno 90
Feb. 17: Fresno 90, West Hills 77

Ventura (2-1) and Fresno (2-1) have the best records. West Hills (1-3) has seen the most competition from Great Eight qualifiers. It's interesting that Ohlone, perhaps the favorite from the North, has yet to share the floor with one of the other seven teams.

College Sports Blog
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Ventura County Star sports writer and columnist Joe Curley covers college sports and soccer for this Star. This is the place to click for local college football and basketball coverage, including USC, UCLA, Moorpark College, Ventura College and Cal Lutheran.

Curley will update from live events and also interject with periodic comment on both international soccer and the local Ventura County Fusion.
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