Fairfax Cast Steals Taft’s Scene, 87-76

Look out, Cleveland High. And beware Crenshaw, Westchester, Kennedy, Manual Arts or any other City Section team that has designs on doing a slam dance during the final at the Sports Arena in March.

Fairfax, the defending City 4-A Division champion, is looking stronger with each game. Sure, Chris Mills, Fairfax’s 6-7 All-American center, has been consistent all season, averaging 32 points a game. These days, however, the Lions’ supporting cast is running interference for Mills, the 4-A player of the year last season.

“I still like to do the dirty work in the middle,” Mills said with a smile, “but it sure helps take some of the pressure off when the other guys are hitting.”

For most of the season, Mills hit like a heavyweight, while the rest of the team provided little punch. In Friday’s Valley League game against Taft, however, some of Fairfax’s lighter-weights lifted the Lions with some key blows as Fairfax defeated Taft, 87-76.

While Mills methodically took apart Taft (11-5, 3-4 in league play) inside, Fairfax guard Andre Durity and forward Ilan Levy-Mayer connected from outside. Taft Coach Jim Woodard rested his hopes for an upset of first-place Fairfax on a collapsing zone defense, with the intention of double-teaming Mills in the key.

Mills, however, ran a zigzag through the Taft sag, and the shooting of Levy-Mayer and Durity put a dent in that strategy. Fairfax converted 56.4% of its field-goal attempts. Levy-Mayer was 7 of 13 and Durity made 8 of 11.

“You know Mills is going to score his points,” Woodard said. “But nobody missed. And we’re not talking about layups, we’re talking bombs.”

Specifically, Woodard was talking about the first quarter, when Fairfax (13-3, 7-0) scored 33 points on 12-of-14 shooting. Taft’s accuracy was not bad, either, as the Toreadors knocked down 9 of 15.

Mills, who finished with a game-high 37 points and 12 rebounds, scored 14 points in the period. Levy-Mayer (16 points) added seven and Durity (23 points) had 11.

Fairfax took a 33-20 lead into the second quarter and expanded its lead to 20 points, 52-32, with three minutes left in the half.

Durity, the only returning starter other than Mills, was the difference the rest of the way. In the first round of league play, Fairfax pulled out a tough, 52-49, win, but in that game, Andre was a cold duck.

“He and Ilan have really started to come around the last few games,” Fairfax Coach Harvey Kitani said. “That’s going to be very important to the team down the line.”

Taft point guard Dedan Thomas, who like off-guard Quincy Watts had 26 points, agreed that a hot-shooting Durity gives Fairfax a different look.

“The first game he didn’t hit anything,” Thomas said. “This time he did. It’s real hard when we come off the other guys to guard Mills, and then they hit their shots.”

Fairfax led, 54-38, at halftime, and by as many as 25 points in the third quarter before Taft made a 10-3 run to open the fourth, cutting the Fairfax lead to 78-62. Mills followed a missed Fairfax free throw with a bucket, and with 3:30 left Fairfax led, 81-62.

Mills, who will attend Kentucky next year, gave Fairfax its final basket on a slam dunk with 34 seconds left. Mills also made three three-point shots, showing his versatility both inside and outside. Make no mistake, it is still Mills’ team.

“I’ve been watching games in the L. A. City for 33 years,” Woodard said, “since 1954 when I was still in junior high school. He is the best I’ve ever seen, even better than John Williams.”