Here come the Celts ... Crespi upsets Harvard-Westlake, 63-54

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Crespi was once ranked in The Times’ top 25 boys’ basketball rankings, but it has been a big disappointment -- until now.

With its football players finally getting into basketball shape, the Celts upset Harvard-Westlake, 63-54, Monday night, handing the Wolverines (18-5, 9-1) their first defeat in Mission League play.

Jerramy King scored 21 points for Crespi (16-7, 7-3), which defeated Loyola on Saturday.

The strange part about Monday’s game was Harvard-Westlake electing to stay in a 2-3 zone defense except for the final 87 seconds. It was as if the Wolverines were daring Crespi to beat them with their outside shooting. But the strategy didn’t work.

Crespi fell behind by 14 points at halftime after making seven of 30 shots. But the Celts began to pick apart Harvard-Westlake’s zone defense in the third quarter, and King had a three-pointer and three-point play in the fourth quarter to lead the comeback.

‘We’re finally finding ourselves,’ Crespi Coach Russell White said. ‘Getting three practices in the last week was important.’

Harvard-Westlake was hurt by the absence of sophomore Erik Swoope, who had to leave the game early in the first quarter after a muscle pull in his back started to bother him. In the end, the Wolverines had little offense besides Renaldo Woolridge, who had 19 points, and their zone left too many of Crespi’s good shooters unguarded for outside shots.

Harvard-Westlake thought it was in position to finish unbeaten in league play for the first time since 1996-97, when Jason and Jarron Collins led the team to a 36-1 record. Now the Wolverines have to stay focused to win the league title because Crespi looks ready to put together a winning streak over the next two weeks.

-- Eric Sondheimer

-- Image from www.bet.com