Taft Reaches Final With 47-42 Victory

Against a front line that measures 6-10, 6-8 and 6-6, Taft High succeeded in slowing the tempo and walked away with a 47-42 win over Los Angeles in the semifinals of the Eagle Rock boys’ basketball tournament Wednesday.

Taft (9-1) will play for the tournament title at 8:30 tonight.

Jason Deyoe led Taft with a career-high 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Dedan Thomas added 13 points, 6 assists and 7 steals.

Taft trailed by as many as 5 points in the third quarter but tied the score, 40-40, on a basket by Thomas at the end of the quarter.

“We haven’t slowed the pace in four years, but fortunately we have a guard like Dedan that could control a fast or slow tempo game,” Taft Coach Jim Woodard said.