THE COLLEGES / FERNANDO DOMINGUEZ : Ventura Basketball Begins Quest for Rare Double

Now that the course has been charted, this is the way things should unfold in the junior college men’s basketball Southern California regional that starts Friday and concludes March 4.

Among the six area teams in the tournament, Ventura obviously drew the best lot. The Pirates, top-ranked in the state, are seeded No. 1 and probably won’t face stiff competition until the third round when they could meet Chaffey (23-9).

Ventura (31-1) will play at home throughout the regional. The Pirates, who won 29 consecutive games this season to equal a school record, should sail through their first two games.

Desert (10-18), their first-round opponent Saturday at 7:30 p.m., is no match for the Pirates. Their second-round foe on Wednesday most likely will be Irvine Valley (21-11), a team Ventura already hammered, 106-89, in the Hancock tournament on Dec. 29.

Then it could get tricky. Chaffey, after getting off to a slow start, cruised to the Foothill Conference South Division title.

The third-round winners advance to the state Final Eight on March 9-11 at the UC Irvine Bren Center. Ventura qualified the past three seasons and reached the title game the past two, losing both times.

For the other area schools, the road ahead is considerably bumpier.

Valley (19-12) and Moorpark (21-11) are in the eight-team bracket with Riverside (28-4) and defending state champion Long Beach (24-8), two teams that seem too strong to overtake. Only one team will advance from that group to the state championships.

The Monarchs will play host to Rio Hondo (15-15) on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Moorpark will travel to Victor Valley (20-10) for a 7 p.m. game Saturday.

Antelope Valley (23-8), Glendale (15-14) and Oxnard (16-15) find themselves in the same eight-team group with heavyweights L.A. City (30-1) and Saddleback (25-5). Antelope Valley, the Foothill Conference North Division champion, will open against Santa Barbara (15-17) at home Saturday at 7 p.m.

Glendale and Oxnard will be on the road for their first-round games Friday at 7 p.m. Glendale will meet MiraCosta (15-11) and Oxnard will be at Saddleback.

Antelope Valley, seeded No. 11, could reach the third round, but L.A. City, ranked No. 2 in the state and seeded No. 3 in the regional, probably will be waiting there.

No matter how you slice it, the four teams that should survive the regional and challenge four Northern California regional qualifiers for the state championship are Ventura, Riverside, L.A. City and Cerritos (29-1), seeded No. 2 in the regional.

Prediction: Ventura over L.A. City in the state title game.

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With the Ventura women’s team seemingly certain to breeze through the Southern California regional that continues tonight and ends Saturday, the school has a reasonable chance to win men’s and women’s titles.

No school has won the men’s and women’s titles the same season.

The Pirates (25-2) are seeded No. 1 and look like a sure bet to make the state Final Eight tournament on March 2-4 at Orange Coast College.

Ventura, which had a first-round bye on Tuesday, will play host to Trade Tech (15-17) tonight at 7. The third round will be played Saturday.

Four other area teams are in the hunt for a berth in the Final Eight tournament, although two of them are in the same bracket.

Canyons (28-5), the WSC South Division winner, is seeded No. 4 and will play host to Orange Coast (21-12) tonight. Valley (21-11), seeded No. 11, will be at Chaffey (24-9), seeded No. 6.

Oxnard (14-14), seeded No. 14, will travel tonight to Harbor (28-6), seeded No. 3. Oxnard defeated San Diego Mesa, 41-40, in a first-round game Tuesday. The Condors and Valley would meet Saturday if they both win tonight.

But the chance of that happening is not much more than slim. Harbor is the defending state champion.

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At least one player in the men’s regional will have a hard time keeping his thoughts on the games.

Damon Ollie, the former North Hollywood High standout and now a freshman forward at Santa Monica, said the shooting death of teammate Davy Fortson has left the Corsairs dumbfounded.

“Everybody is in shock,” Ollie said. “But the coach has told us to stay focused and go out and do it for him. . . . It will be real hard (to play).”

Fortson was shot in the chest Friday night at a Santa Monica hamburger stand soon after scoring 23 points in an 89-71 victory over Glendale. He was 19.

Police arrested a 16-year-old reputed gang member on suspicion of murder. The suspect reportedly argued with Fortson and his companions before the shooting.

Fortson was a 6-foot-4 sophomore guard from Dorsey High who averaged 20.9 points this season. On Wednesday, he was named the most valuable player in the Western State Conference South Division. He and Ollie had become friends and often did things together.

“We were pretty close,” said Ollie, who averages 21.1 points and teamed with Fortson to help the Corsairs win the division. “He would take me to Dorsey games.”

The Corsairs (24-8) will play host to Fullerton (13-18) in a first-round game Saturday, the day after Fortson’s funeral. Ollie said the team plans to wear patches on their jerseys with Fortson’s initials on them.

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After only three WSC matches, the men’s golf team at Canyons looks like a powerhouse.

The Cougars are 15-0, five victories ahead of defending co-champions Ventura (10-5) and Bakersfield (10-5).

Under the WSC format, each conference school will play host to two matches, with all six conference teams participating in each match. The winner of each match receives five victories and zero defeats, second place is credited with a 4-1 record and so forth down the line.

Canyons will try to extend its winning streak at the next conference match on Monday at the Valencia Country Club.

“The top three guys have been very consistent in terms of team scoring,” said Cougar Coach Gary Peterson.

“Our team is less dominated by outstanding individuals and we are really a very well-balanced team.”

The leading players for Canyons are Mike O’Brien, a redshirt sophomore from Hart High; Paul Muniz, a sophomore from Granada Hills High, and Jason Plosz, a sophomore from Canada.