- 99-86 Final. VC will play Riverside next week in a regional final that's good enough to be a state final.

- Pimble just missed his first shot of the night. He was 18 for 18 from the line before missing one. He's 9 of 9 from the floor for 36 points.

- Even consecutive 3-point plays can save Orange Coast. Pimble and Young sink five free throws to keep VC ahead, 94-80 with 1:00 left.

- Tavares volleyball spikes two layups and VC gets the ball back, 87-74 1:16 left.

- Cornett fouls out with 2:17 left. Tavares scores inside to make it a 23-5 VC run. 86-72 VC with 1:54 left.

- Pimble just missed a jam that would have brought the house down, cocking it all the way back one-handed down the lane off a Benson pass. It went off the back iron and out to half court.

- If OCC were a boxer, it would be on the canvas right now. A Breland jumper, two Pimble free throws and a beautiful open court Benson pass to Jamerson give VC a 83-72 lead with 3:37 left. It's a 20-5 VC run and an OCC timeout.

- A Breland jumper makes it 79-72 with 3:58 to play.

- Pimble leaves the game banged up with 31 points, but VC keeps its momentum. Tavares scores his 20th and 21st points inside and blocks Cornett inside to get the ball back.

- The 2,000 VC fans explode as a quick out to Benson ends up with Pimble dunking down in transition for a 72-69 VC lead.

- Two Benson free throws makes it 69-69. Tavares blocks Cornett inside and picks up Cornett's fourth foul. He's shoot two with 6:44 left. Swish.Miss.

- Benson scores inside to tie the game 67-67 with 7:45. But two Cornett free throws quickly restore the lead to OCC.

- He's doing it on both sides of the floor. Pimble takes a charge that fouls out Wise with 8:08 left. OCC leads 67-65.

- Pimble is 11 for 11 from the field. He steals the ball and sets up Troy Watson for a breakaway. It's only a one-point hole, 64-63, and an 8-0 spurt.

- The OCC lead is pushed to 9, at 64-55 with 11:03 left, before Ventura makes a move. Two Pimble free throws, a Tavares (18 points) follow and a Pimble (2Z points) post move pulls VC within 64-61 with 9:46 left. OCC timeout.

- Cornett (13 points) drives past Tavares to give OCC a 63-55 lead with 11:30 left.

- Cornett gets two free throws and scores inside to push the lead to 61-52 with 12:03 left.

- OCC gets a 5-point possession as guard Josh Poitevin swishes two free throws and a corner 3 after VC gets a technical foul for delay of game.57-51 OCC, 13:30.

- Engle swishes another 3 before Tavares heats up with buckets on five straight trips to pull Ventura within 52-50 with 14:45 left. He had 6 points at halftime. 16 now.

- After Wise opens the second half with a long 3, Pimble gets the Pirates started with a steal and high-flying jam.

For the fourth time in six seasons, the Ventura College men's basketball team is the second seed in the Southern California regional playoffs. The Pirates attempt to finally turn that home court advantage into a Great Eight berth over the next eight days.

First up? The No. 15 seed, Orange Coast College, who are coming off three of their biggest wins of the season.

Ventura, which ended the regular season with the whimper of losses to Moorpark and Cuesta, welcome back freshman guard Danny Benson, who has been out since Dec. 30 with a broken foot.

In-game updates will follow in the next post:

- Selleh scores inside to make it 61-48, Ventura. Santa Ana takes a timeout with 4:01 left.
- Ventura wins 71-59. Selleh has 25, Williams has 24 and Ligon had a game-high 29. She missed a layup at the buzzer for 31.

- The Ventura lead peaks at 59-42 before Santa Ana makes it's final push. Three straight scores pull it within 59-48 with five minutes left. Ligon has a game-high 24 points.

- Williams gets a putback and a jumper to extend Ventura's lead to 53-40 with under 10 minutes to play.

We're here live at the Ventura College Athletic Event Center where No. 10 Santa Ana (19-11) visits No. 7 Ventura (25-7) tonight at 7.

The Pirates, WSC North champions for a 17th straight year, look to end their three-game postseason losing streak against the third-place team from the Orange Empire Conference.

The night is also a homecoming for Santa Ana assistant coach Kristin DeSimone, who played for Ventura from 1997 to 1999. The Agoura High product was an all-state tournament team member in 1999.

"I took 10 minutes for reminiscing," said DeSimone."Now we're ready to go."