Mills Crushes Kennedy Rally, 53-51 : All-American Center Saves Fairfax With a Dunk at the Buzzer

Forget the first half, and while you’re at it, chuck that third quarter right out the window. Come to think of it, Kennedy High probably could not have thrown anything anywhere for the first 24 minutes of Friday night’s game with Fairfax.

In the first half, Kennedy clumsily clanked around as though the game--which could have put the Golden Cougars in a tie for first place in the Valley League with a win--was an intrasquad scrimmage. But in the fourth quarter, it went from intrasquad to interesting before Fairfax’s one-man squad finally decided matters.

Kennedy, which had scored a thimbleful of baskets--four--in the first half somehow scratched and clawed its way back from an 18-point third-quarter deficit to tie the score with eight seconds left. But All-American center Chris Mills put an end to the comeback with a dunk at the buzzer as Fairfax held on for a 53-51 win at Kennedy.

Mills, who finished with a game-high 33 points and 24 rebounds, was Fairfax’s salvation after nearly becoming its scapegoat. The 6-foot, 7-inch senior single-handedly carried the Lions into the fourth quarter with an assortment of shots, including a pair of three-point baskets, two slams and enough jumpers to make Kennedy Coach Yutaka Shimizu wonder if the double-team coverage he ordered was enough.

Shimizu, however, must have seen enough by the middle of the third quarter. With Fairfax coasting, 39-21, five minutes into the second half, Shimizu slammed the door on Fairfax by implementing a half-court press.

“We had to do something,” Shimizu said, “so halfway through the third we started the press. That’s the funny thing about the press, it can really change the momentum of a game.”

There was not much Fairfax fun thereafter--mark one monumental momentum change. Fairfax, which had harassed Kennedy’s guards the entire first half with a full-court press of its own to take a 31-16 halftime lead, was dealt a dose of its own defense.

“We didn’t do a good job of attacking their press,” Fairfax Coach Harvey Kitani said, shaking his head. “We did a great job in the first half, but we just plain came apart after that.”

The Golden Cougars (11-2, 2-2 in league play) actually made two runs in the fourth quarter. With 5:44 left and Kennedy trailing, 43-32, reserve guard Clint Trzaska drilled a three-point shot to cap a 7-0 run to open the quarter. Trzaska, who was fouled, could not convert the free throw and Mills scored three unanswered points to give the Lions (12-1, 4-0) an 11-point margin.

Yet Mills, the 1987 City Player of the Year, committed 4 of Fairfax’s 9 turnovers in the period, allowing Kennedy back in the game.

Mills scored on a layup with two minutes left to give Fairfax a seemingly safe 49-37 lead, but Clarence Williams (14 points) and Uba Satterfield (16 points) each made both ends of one-and-one opportunities to cut the lead to six with 1:14 remaining.

Kennedy then caught fire from three-point range. After the team had missed on four consecutive three-pointers on the heels of Trzaska’s bomb, Cord Bailey scored from 22 feet to bring the Cougars to within 49-46 with 41 seconds left.

After yet another Fairfax turnover, Satterfield scored inside to cut the lead to one. Mills then made a pair of free throws, but he missed the front of a one-and-one with 17 seconds remaining as Kennedy fouled in desperation.

Bailey--who scored all six of his points in Kennedy’s 23-point fourth quarter--connected again from three-point range with eight seconds left to tie the score, 51-51.

Bailey was mobbed and Mills was miffed. With Kennedy within a whisper of a win, Mills again came through, this time with a play that silenced Kennedy for good.

After a Fairfax timeout, Kennedy’s press finally sprung a leak. The Lions inbounded the ball, only to see it knocked loose at mid-court. Yet instead of Fairfax coughing up its 10th turnover of the quarter, Mills regained possession, bounced the ball twice, took two big steps and slammed it home over Williams with one second left, giving Kennedy its second loss in as many games.

“That ball was loose, no question about it,” Shimizu said. “Mills did a heckuva job to come up with it and take it to the hoop.”

Mills, who scored 7 of the Lions’ 10 points in the fourth quarter, was practically carried to the team bus, because Kennedy’s rally had just gone bust.