Fairfax Snaps Cleveland’s League Win Streak, 56-53

Just in case Cleveland High forgot for a while, there was a reason that Fairfax was favored to win the Valley 4-A League basketball title this season.

His name is Sean Higgins, he stands 6-9, and he has the physique of a piece of licorice.

But boy can he shoot.

Higgins, a junior forward, shot Fairfax right back into the race for a league championship Friday night at Cleveland. He scored 22 points, including 16 in the second half, as the Lions defeated the Cavaliers, 56-53, before a capacity crowd.

The loss snapped Cleveland’s 29-game win streak in league play and trimmed its lead in the league to a half-game. Cleveland is 11-6 overall, 8-1 in league. Fairfax improved to 16-4 and 8-2.

“The only way we’re going to lose first place is to lose it ourselves,” said Cleveland Coach Bob Braswell after the game. “It is ours to win if we want it bad enough.”

The match between two of the City’s top four seeded teams lived up to expectations. The battle between Higgins and Cleveland’s All-City forward Trevor Wilson did not.

Wilson, a 6-8 senior who is headed for UCLA next season, suffered through one of his poorest games of the season right in front of UCLA Coach Walt Hazzard, who was scouting the game.

Wilson led the Cavaliers in scoring with 16 points, but made only five of 17 field-goal attempts.

Meanwhile, Higgins was camping out on the baseline and finding the area much to his liking. He scored 16 of his points in the second half from about 18 feet away.

And when Higgins did happen to miss, Chris Mills, the Lion’s 6-8 center, was usually there to tip it in. He had 20 points.

Fairfax led, 52-45, with 50 seconds left when Greer hit a five-footer from inside the key. A tip-in by Wilson with 25 seconds left made it 52-49, but Higgins coverted two free throws with 18 seconds left to give Fairfax a five-point lead.

Greer came back with another jumper from the lane, this time from 10-feet with 11 seconds left, to make it 54-51, and Fairfax did all it could it to bumble the game away after that.

The Lions were unsuccessful on the inbounds play, allowing Wilson to come up with a steal and two free throws with nine seconds left. After calling time out, Fairfax again tried to inbound the ball, only to lose it again on a steal by Cleveland’s Andre Anderson.

Anderson came up with the ball with eight seconds left, dribbled around defenders and went up for a 10-footer that would have won the game, but he was called for an offensive foul.

Higgins was fouled by Wilson on the inbounds play, and sank both ends of a one-and-one free throw situation with three seconds left to ice the game.