Azzam: The season is not over

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Ed Azzam stood in a hallway inside the Galen Center, hands on hips, lips slightly pursed.

It was harder to tell if the Westchester coach was more upset at losing in the City Championship Division semifinals, or losing to Western League rival Fairfax.

Actually it was the way the Comets lost on Friday, as Fairfax center Renardo Sidney canned an open 18-foot jumper with less than two seconds to play to give the Lions their 55-53 victory. Westchester had a 51-44 lead with 2:30 to play.

‘One guy didn’t beat us,’ Azzam said. ‘[Sidney] made some shots at the end; he’s a tremendous offensive player. But you have to step out and guard him ... and we didn’t shoot the ball very well. When we don’t shoot the ball well from the perimeter, we struggle offensively because we’re a perimeter-oriented team.’

Although Westchester can’t win the City title, the Comets have another round of playoffs in two weeks: the Southern California Regionals, which lead to the state championship.

‘I told the kids ‘OK, we’re not the best team in the City, so we’re going to try to be the best team in the state.’ That’s our goal now.’

-- Mike Terry