Boys' basketball: After defeating Chino Hills, Fairfax is stunned by Brentwood

Boys’ basketball: After defeating Chino Hills, Fairfax is stunned by Brentwood

Eagles get late basket to win, 65-64

Columnist

June 27, 2016 7:27 PM PT

It’s not every day that you see a team celebrating a summer basketball win as if they had won a championship. Then again, Brentwood’s 65-64 stunner over Fairfax on Monday in the opening round of the Fairfax tournament provided a deserving celebratory moment.

With nine sophomores and three freshmen on the roster, Brentwood Coach Ryan Bailey is building a team for the long term. But the Eagles grew up pretty fast, taking advantage of a lack of a big man in the Lions’ lineup to pull off the upset.

Sophomore Braelee Albert, who just turned 15, made a basket with 6.5 seconds left after getting his first shot blocked to give Brentwood the lead. Fairfax never got another shot off before the buzzer sounded. Players on the bench came onto the court in jubilation.

Fairfax was coming off an equally stunning win over Chino Hills on Saturday in the championship game of the Maranatha tournament. But the Lions badly missed their one big man, Kirk Smith, who didn’t play on Monday. Albert finished with 16 points. Brentwood also shot well from outside, making nine threes. Sophomore JR Olofson scored 15 points and sophomore Sam Clareman and junior Charley Wadler added 11 points each.

For Fairfax, Jamal Hartwell scored 19 points, Evan Anderson 18 and Bobby McRae 13. Fairfax went on a 17-2 run to take a nine-point lead in the second half. Brentwood refused to give up.

“We play hard,” Bailey said. “That’s all I can ask with nine sophomores and three freshmen. We’ll have up and down nights. I can sleep easy because we compete.”

Brentwood will play Corona Centennial on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in a quarterfinal game.

Long Beach Poly 76, La Canada 51: Zafir Williams, a 6-foot-6 senior, scored 27 points to lead the Jackrabbits. He has lost 15 pounds since last season, helping his stamina and agility.

Corona Centennial 65, Maranatha 49: Bobby Ovos scored 16 points, Gio Nelson 15 and freshman Jaylen Clarke had 10 points for the Huskies, who will get back Jalen Hill on Wednesday when they face Brentwood. Jesse Elrod had 18 points for Maranatha.

Crespi 51, Orange Lutheran 41: The Celts received 20 points from Jack Houghton.

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