Westchester’s guards lead way over Fairfax
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There’s no high school basketball team in Southern California that has four guards the caliber of No. 2-ranked Westchester, and in front of a sold-out crowd Friday night, the Comets displayed their shooting ability and versatility during a 78-73 Western League victory over No. 5-ranked Los Angeles Fairfax.
“The guards are the strength of the team,” Westchester Coach Ed Azzam said.
Senior point guard Dominique O’Connor scored 22 points, junior Jordin Mayes scored 17, junior Denzel Douglas had 12 points and junior Kareem Jamar had five points, with the four combining to make nine three-point baskets.
The guards helped the Comets (17-1, 4-0) overcome 34 points and nine rebounds from 6-foot-11 Renardo Sidney of Fairfax (12-3, 2-1).
Douglas, in particular, hurt the Lions with three three-pointers. He was a starter on last season’s unbeaten junior varsity team, and for him to perform so well in his first Fairfax-Westchester varsity encounter surprised the Lions.
“We gave up way too many points,” Fairfax Coach Harvey Kitani said. “We gave them a lot of easy baskets, and to their credit, they shot the ball well. I think we needed to get more easy buckets, and we didn’t get that.
“We made it harder for ourselves.”
Douglas came off the bench to provide a lift to Westchester, and his three-pointer with 2:09 left gave the Comets a 70-62 lead and was a back-breaker for the Lions.
“I just like to come off the bench and contribute,” Douglas said.
Westchester opened a 39-31 halftime lead, but Fairfax scored the first nine points of the third quarter to take the lead. Sidney tried to take charge in the fourth quarter, scoring his team’s first nine points.
He was hoping to duplicate his performance from last season, when he scored 11 consecutive points in the fourth quarter and finished with 32 points in a 55-53 victory over Westchester in the City semifinals.
“He started to take over from the beginning,” Azzam said. “He’s very difficult to guard.”
Dwayne Polee Jr., a 6-6 junior, was a key contributor for Westchester, scoring 11 points and getting four blocks.
The gym doors opened at 5 p.m., and within 15 minutes, three-quarters of the 850 bleacher seats were filled. By the time the JV game started at 5:30, the gym was close to capacity.
There was a VIP section set aside, with individual seats for USC Coach Tim Floyd, UCLA assistant Donny Daniels, former NBA player Chris Mills, a Fairfax graduate, and several other college assistants determined to see a game that has become one of the best sports rivalries in the Southland.
After these two schools played four times in 2003 and 2004, Kitani says he remembers thinking there might be “a drop off in excitement and anticipation.”
“No, it was the same,” he said.
And there was no lack of emotion Friday, with vocal rooting sections and inspired play. The two teams play again Feb. 6 at Westchester.
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