Lethargic Grant Edges Tenacious Bel-Air Prep

Having already lost 2 starters in the North Hollywood tournament 2 weeks ago, Grant High was glad to see that it had received a present--albeit a small one--Tuesday night in the first round of the Birmingham tournament.

The Lancers had drawn Bel-Air Prep, a 1-A Division school with an enrollment of 180, in the opening game.

The Bruins, though, had brought presents of their own--presence in the paint, that is--and pushed Grant to the limit, almost pulling off a first-round upset before falling, 50-49.

“I think we took them too lightly,” Grant Coach Howard Levine said. “They had an intensity on the boards that we didn’t have.”

Sean Watkins clinched the win when he hit the second of 2 free throws with 7 seconds to play.

Grant led, 12-9, after the first quarter but Bel-Air Prep outscored the Lancers by 6 in the second quarter to take a 29-26 halftime lead. Junior guard Ahmad Clayton scored 18 points in the quarter.

After sitting out for 2 minutes, Clayton returned with the Bruins ahead by 4 points. By the end of the third quarter, Bel-Air Prep led, 41-38, but Watkins was beginning to hit his outside shots. Watkins scored 7 points in the third quarter en route to a team-high 19.

Grant finally tied the score, 44-44, with 5:45 remaining on a layup by guard Nate Conner.

In other tournament games:

Reseda 70, Monroe 54--Reseda (1-6) won its first game behind Donald Wilson’s 17 points.

Derril White led Monroe (1-4) with 21 points.

Poly 55, Van Nuys 50--Scott Cooper scored 19 points and Juan Estrada added 15 for Poly, which led at halftime, 27-12.

Birmingham 65, Canoga Park 41--Birmingham took an early lead and blew the game open behind Tyronne Craig’s game-high 21 points.