Prep BOYS : Cleveland Wins 10th Straight--Easily

San Fernando High’s basketball team hasn’t given Tiger fans much to cheer about lately. The Tigers, who have yet to win a league game, lost their third straight Wednesday, 84-55, to Valley 4-A powerhouse Cleveland. The Tigers led only briefly in the first quarter, 4-2. After that, Cleveland dominated the hapless Tigers both offensively and defensively.

The Cavaliers, capitalizing on San Fernando turnovers, hit 7 of 12 from the field in the first quarter to take a 20-12 lead. During that span, San Fernando hit 5 of 17. Weak Tiger passing, combined with strong Cleveland shooting gave the Cavaliers a 44-23 halftime lead. Cleveland finished the game hitting 34 of 57 from the floor and 16 of 27 from the free-throw line. San Fernando started to come alive early in the second half and even outscored Cleveland, 12-8, in the third quarter’s opening minutes. Although the Tigers played better offensively in the second half, they could get no closer than 17 points, 58-41, midway in the third quarter.

By the end of the third quarter, Cleveland had surged to a 65-41 lead, led, in part, by some quick scoring from James Jones and Derwin Wesley of the Cavaliers.

Poor passing and shooting once again hurt San Fernando in the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers made the most of it with tight defense and precision passing to outscore the Tigers, 19-14, in the final quarter.

Cleveland Coach Jim Herrick was able to use all of his players with the comfortable lead. Most of the starting lineup sat on the bench for much of the fourth quarter, watching their team win its tenth straight game. Cleveland is ranked second in the city by The Times. Four of Cleveland’s starting players hit double figures. Andre Washington led the way with a game-high 17 points and 12 rebounds. Trevor Wilson scored 15 points, Anthony Kidd had 13 while Kevin Stafford collected 12 for the Cavaliers who are now 3-0 in league play and 15-1 overall.

The other starter, All-City Guard Tyrone Mitchell, didn’t score in double figures, but managed to get nine points while passing off 10 assists. He also had three of Cleveland’s 13 steals. The Tigers, who play at Monroe Friday, were led by Cordell Seeley and Shelton Boykin. Each had 12 points.