Cleveland Transitions Into the Quarterfinals

With 3:47 left in the third quarter of Friday’s City 4-A playoff game between Cleveland and Gardena, the officials had to stop play to sort out a discrepancy between the two score books.

It seems that one of the scorekeepers missed a basket somewhere along the line. The only surprising thing about the incident was that it didn’t happen sooner, considering the rapid pace of Cleveland High’s transition game.

The officials were able to correct the matter, but it didn’t really matter at that point. Led by Trevor Wilson’s game-high 34 points, the Cavaliers controled the game throughout and defeated Gardena, 87-58, at home.

The Cavaliers’ 25-point outburst in the second quarter sealed the game, but Cleveland Coach Bob Braswell thought the dominating factor was his team’s 58-56 loss to Kennedy on Wednesday.

“That loss made us hungrier,” Braswell said. “It made us realize that we’re not invincible and can be beaten if we don’t play well.”

With the win, Cleveland (14-7), Valley 4-A League champions and seeded third in the playoffs, advances to the quarterfinals against Fremont Wednesday, which defeated Banning, 97-66. Two years ago, Fremont (15-7) eliminated the Cavaliers in the first round. Gardena, which finished fifth in the Marine League, ends the season at 8-12.

Wilson made 14 of 20 shots and had a team-high seven rebounds, but it was hardly a one-man show. Eleven different players scored for the Cavaliers and they shot 53% as a team.

But as impressive as its offense was, it was Cleveland’s defense that presented the biggest problem to the Mohicans. Against the Cavaliers’ swarming zone, Gardena made just 38% of its shots and committed 31 turnovers. Consequently, Cleveland made several lengthy scoring runs, the most impressive a 12-0 spurt midway through the third quarter.

“We were able to do whatever was necessary defensively,” Braswell said. “We were aggressive and extended the wings and we rebounded well.”

Cleveland jumped to a 6-0 lead and had the game well in hand by the end of the first quarter with a 22-9 advantage. Gardena trailed, 13-9, with 1:45 left, but Cleveland outscored it, 9-0, in the final minute.

The only visibly negative aspect of Cleveland’s game was its free-throw shooting. The Cavaliers made just 2 of 10 in the fourth quarter and wound up 17 of 37.

Gardena trailed by as many as 37 points, but outscored Cleveland in the last quarter, 24-16, to make the blowout a little less severe.

“When you get a big lead you expect to get a little lazy,” Braswell said. “We just have to working on staying more intense.”