Rio Mesa’s Pressure Leads to a Sweet Victory, 79-61

VENTURA —  Life was like a box of chocolates for the Rio Mesa High boys’ basketball team, except the Spartans knew exactly what they were going to get.

Their full-court press worked its magic on Ventura in the second half, as did a third-quarter spurt from Ken Forney, who answers to the nickname Forrest Gump.

The result was a 79-61 victory for Rio Mesa in a Channel League game Wednesday night at Ventura, the Spartans’ eighth consecutive victory.

They can thank their press, which spelled second-half trouble for Ventura, which held a 31-30 halftime lead.

Rio Mesa (11-3, 5-0 in league) forced the Cougars into several third-quarter turnovers, including a five-second inbounds violation and three errant passes during an 18-5 run.

“That’s our game,” Rio Mesa Coach Steve Wolf said. “We’re not going to destroy anybody for 32 minutes. We’re just going to keep coming and coming and get some spurts.”

Also important was the play of Forney, who picked up his moniker because, to the glee of his teammates, the Spartan forward tried out for cross-country last fall.

On Wednesday, Forney nudged his team’s offense awake and scored eight of his 11 points in the third quarter for Rio Mesa, the fifth-ranked team in The Times’ regional poll.

Scott Fujita scored 21 points for Rio Mesa and Tyrone Nunnery added 18.

Ventura (8-8, 2-3) played well in the first half, sinking four of seven three-point shots, three by Christian Gallagher, who finished with 15 points.