Ventura Follows Winning Formula

VENTURA — Get the ball to Christian Gallagher.

Dan Larson, the Ventura High boys’ basketball coach, instructed his team to employ that simple strategy in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s Channel League opener against cross-town rival Buena and it resulted in a 52-40 Cougar victory.

Gallagher, a 6-foot-1, left-handed senior, scored only seven points on three-of-nine shooting in the first three quarters, but he scored the first 13 points of the fourth quarter for Ventura and finished with 20.

“I wanted the ball in his hands,” Larson said. “He’s a two-year starter and he’s in his third year at the varsity level. He knows what to do out there.”

Gallagher hit four of six shots in the fourth quarter and made all four of his free throws to help Ventura (7-5, 1-0) win its second consecutive game and fourth in the last five.

“We just started to take the ball to the basket,” Gallagher said. “Coach told us that he wanted us to start attacking the basket and we did that.”

Gallagher hit a three-point basket with 7:50 to play to start his fourth-quarter scoring streak and he ended it with a layup on an assist from Justin Gilmore with 1:53 remaining.

That gave Ventura a 49-40 lead, and the Cougars hit three of four free throws down the stretch.

Brandon Gallagher, Christian’s 6-5 fraternal twin, was the only other Ventura player in double figures with 11 points.

Ventura made only 17 of 50 shots, including two of 12 in a four-point third quarter, but the Cougars limited Buena’s leading scorers of Ryan Fay, Ian Boys and T.J. Stafford to a combined 13 points.

Buena (7-4) made only 14 of 45 shots, including two of 15 in the third quarter.

“Obviously, we tried to keep Fay and Boys under control,” Larson said. “We wanted to get after them when they got the ball, but I think they also just had off games. We got lucky tonight. They’re good players and they won’t play like that too often.”

Armando Conaway had 13 points for Buena.