Wilson’s 22 Rebounds Leads Cleveland at Taft

Forget about Cleveland High’s slow start this season.

After losing their first two games, they Chancellors have bounced back like a 15-foot Kurt Rambis jump shot to reassume the role of Valley 4-A League bully.

Friday night at Cleveland, the Cavaliers (2-2 overall, 2-0 in league) did everything but toss Taft (2-1, 0-1) out the back door in a 91-48 league romp over the Toreadors.

The win was Cleveland’s second straight and 24th consecutive in league play.

First-year Cavalier Coach Bob Braswell admitted that he was a little concerned with his team’s sluggish start this season.

“After two losses, you start to think a bit,” he said. “I mean, you’re only human. But I really think that it may have been good for us in a way. This team is not as talented as last year’s team and then we were ranked No. 1 in the Valley and I think they got caught up in all the hoopla. Maybe losing woke them up. “

Perhaps Taft Coach Jim Woodard would rather have stayed in bed.

“They squashed us like a bug tonight,” he said. “I think their whole team is great.”

Cleveland’s Trevor Wilson did more than his share of the squashing. In the first minute of the game, he threw Taft’s Darren Kolinsky to the ground in a tug-of-war over a rebound. For the rest of the game, the key was Wilson’s domain. Taft players were to enter at their own risk. Not many did. Wilson grabbed 22 rebounds and scored 25 points before sitting down with 4:41 left in the game. He also finished with five assists and four steals.

“He was spectacular,” Braswell said. “He’s definitely an All-America and All-City player and I’m proud of him. He did a great job on the boards and an excellent job passing the ball.”

Entering the game, however, Wilson was the least of Braswell’s worries. The 6-8, 205-pound forward was averaging 27 points and doing most of the offensive damage for Cleveland. Friday night, some of his teammates got in on the act.

Senior forward Chris Wheeler scored 15 points and had five rebounds, while sophomore guard Joey Manlinguis added 12 points in supporting roles.

“It wasn’t that we just couldn’t stop Trevor,” Woodard said. “We couldn’t stop anyone.”

Case in point: rebounding.

The Cavaliers dominated under the boards, out-rebounding Taft, 47-21.

Cleveland opened up a 27-13 lead after one quarter and then outscored the Toreadors, 13-2, to begin the second period to enjoy a 40-15 advantage with about five minutes left in the half. The Cavaliers continued to cruise until the fourth quarter, when Braswell emptied his bench.

Senior Forward Keith Franklin paced the Toreadors with 19 points and five rebounds. Junior Darren Kolinsky added nine points.

Taft 13 8 5 22 -- 48 Cleveland 27 27 21 16 -- 91 TAFT--Keith Franklin 19; Bromberg 2; Watts 4; Holland 0; Kevin Franklin 6; Moskovitz 0; Kolinsky 9; Smith 0; Hotchings 2; Roberts 6.

CLEVELAND--Wilson 25; Anderson 3; Bryan Manlinguis 0; Joey Manlinguis 12; Shofner 9; Dixion 2; Love 6; King 4; Fann 7; Wheeler 15; Branham 4.