Boys’ basketball: Crenshaw edges Fremont

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Fremont Coach Sam Sullivan figured either his team would make the winning basket or the game would go into overtime.

Then another unsettling option figured into the equation.

With possession of the ball and 32 seconds remaining in its Coliseum League game against rival Crenshaw on Friday, Fremont could wait for the last shot. But guard Savion Udeh pulled up for a short jumper with five seconds left. The shot missed.

Crenshaw grabbed the rebound and fed guard Reynaul Baker for a layup with one second left that propelled the Cougars to a 56-54 victory at Fremont.

‘That’s a heck of a way to lose,’ said Sullivan, whose team suffered its first home defeat since a 2007 loss to View Park Prep.

Swingman Duece Zaid scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half for Crenshaw (16-3, 8-1), which all but assured itself of a league title with the victory. Baker added 12 points for the Cougars.

‘It really hurts a lot because we really wanted that,’ Sullivan said. ‘We win that game and we’re tied for first place.’

Senior forward Tony Freeland scored 16 points and senior guard Ryan Smith had 12 for Fremont (14-8, 7-3), which tied the score at 54-54 with 32 seconds left after a technical foul was assessed on Crenshaw for attempting to call a timeout it didn’t have while facing pressure in the backcourt.

Smith made two free throws and the Pathfinders were awarded the ball. Sullivan said he instructed his players to wait for one final shot, but Udeh pulled the trigger a bit early.

‘I think they were shocked they took the shot,’ Crenshaw Coach Ed Waters said of the other Fremont players.

‘He short-armed it,’ Sullivan said. ‘He didn’t extend and follow through. If I could pick someone to shoot a jump shot, I’d pick him every time.’

The game was played with about 25 Los Angeles Police Dept. and L.A. School Police officers in attendance in the wake of a brawl that broke out involving players and fans last month when the teams met at Crenshaw. The teams met at midcourt before the game to slap heads and shake hands in a show of unity.

‘I told the Crenshaw kids, ‘Look, we don’t have a beef with you guys,’ ‘ Sullivan said.

There was a minor postgame altercation in the parking lot in which a Fremont employee was temporarily handcuffed following a verbal dispute, but no arrests were made.

--Ben Bolch