Bulldogs Fall to Ventura in Regular Season Finale at Home

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - The Allan Hancock College men's basketball program fell, 72-59, to Ventura College at home on Friday evening in the regular season finale. | BOX SCORE

An unusually slow start for the Bulldogs (17-10, 9-3 WSC) led to a 13 point deficit at the intermission. The Pirates (25-2, 12-0 WSC) rode out their lead through the end after AHC was plagued by early foul trouble and cold shooting from distance in the second half. Both teams hovered around the 40 percent mark from the floor but for this first time this season, the Bulldogs were limited to zero made three-pointers after 11 attempts as a team. Coach Aye's squad did hold the rebounding advantage with a slim 41-37 margin and registered 19 second-chance points. Hancock also forced 16 VC turnovers, successfully converting those mistakes for 19 points on the opposite end of the floor. 

Shawn Kelly finished as the lone double-digit scorer for Hancock, recording 12 bench points, and grabbed six rebounds. Matt Solomon and Amari Stroud each tacked on nine points, followed by eight from Nico Thomas. Stroud led the team on the boards after grabbing nine while Vondre Chase posted a team-best mark of two blocks. 

The Bulldogs will now wait until the bracket is revealed for the 2022 CCCAA Men's Basketball Championship to determine if their season has truly ended. The seeding meeting is scheduled to take place on Sunday, February 27th, to set the playoff field with the official announcement to follow that evening or the next day.