Men’s Basketball Drops Second-Consecutive OT Thriller

The Riverside City College men's basketball team traveled to Ventura College for the second time this season and faced off against the Ventura College Pirates last Wednesday night. In the Tiger's second-consecutive overtime contest, Riverside was haunted by late fouls and a handful of turnovers leading to an 82-81 defeat.

The Tigers held a five-point lead entering into the final three minutes of the second half after a three-pointer from freshman forward Robert Ayala backed by two points at the charity stripe from freshman guard Jalen Monroe. However, a 7-2 run by Ventura to close out regulations forced overtime.

The five-minute overtime period was riddled with fouls and uncharacteristic turnovers. The Tigers fouled eight times to the Pirate's three. Despite the unfavorable ratio, Riverside stayed in contention of the victory as the score changed hands three times with one tied score. However, the Pirates grabbed a 69-68 lead with under three minutes remaining and held on for the duration of the final period.

Ventura led by six with under a minute to go, but two layups from Ayala and a buried three-pointer by sophomore guard Melvin Walker brought the game back two within three points. However, five straight points from the Pirate offensive sealed the deal down the stretch.

Sophomore guard Edwyn Collins earned his first start and bucketed a team-high 18 points despite going 0-for-3 from long range. He flirted with a double-double by hauling in seven rebounds and dishing out four assists.

Monroe recorded his first-career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Ayala followed with 15 points and five rebounds.

With a short-handed offense, freshman sharp shooter Julian Alvarez led the bench brigade with 14 points highlighted by a 3-for-4 clip from beyond the arc.

Riverside shot well from the free throw line by flushing home 16-of-20 (80 percent) opportunities. They owned the boards with 43 team rebounds to Ventura's 36.