With ‘Victory’ Came Defeat : Slow-Down Offense, Mistakes Stalled Cleveland’s Drive to Title

In the terminology-crazed world of sports, there is a phrase or buzzword that covers a seemingly infinite variety of offensive permutations or state-of-the-art, 1-1-1-1-1, sagging-zone-trap press, diamond-and-one defenses.

At Cleveland High, there is an offensive scheme called “Victory.” Some would liken it to a stall or a four-corner spread because its intent is to run big chunks of time off the clock while holding both the ball and the lead.

Properly executed, the objective inherent in its name eventually comes to pass. When it doesn’t, it can mean a fast shuffle from victor to vanquished.

In the final three minutes of Wednesday night’s City Section 4-A Division quarterfinal game between Cleveland and Fairfax highs, Cleveland went into the Victory set while holding a two-point lead.

“Well, it didn’t quite work like we hoped,” Cleveland Coach Bob Braswell said Thursday.

And neither did much of anything else as Cleveland (21-3), which had won 18 consecutive games and was ranked No. 2 in the state, lost, 53-51.

Perhaps the best encapsulated example of Cleveland’s futility came during the Victory spread with 3:03 left and the Cavaliers holding a 45-43 lead. Cleveland ran 29 seconds off the clock, but a pass intended for junior forward Bobby McRae went through his hands and out of bounds.

Even though Cleveland built a four-point lead in the final minute, the game and season soon slipped away after similar mistakes. The Cavaliers were outscored, 6-0, in the final 20 seconds as Fairfax handed Cleveland its first loss of the season at home.

For Braswell, a sleepless night of introspection proved less than insightful. Cleveland had beaten Fairfax by 38 points in a nonleague game in December.

“At times, we just weren’t out there,” Braswell said. “I don’t know what goes through kids’ minds. Maybe they hear, ‘You’re gonna win, you’re gonna win,’ so often at school that they start to believe it.”

After taking his teams to the City final in his first two seasons as coach, Braswell watched as his squad was rudely bounced from the playoffs for the second consecutive year. Last season, Cleveland lost in the first round to Fremont.

One virtual no-show Wednesday was the Cavalier bench, which regularly bailed the team out of tight games. Only junior Eddie Hill, who scored a game-high 16 points, was effective. Other non-starters combined for one point.

“We didn’t get anywhere near the production we’ve been getting,” Braswell said. “All year, we’ve been eight, nine, 10 deep off the bench. It wasn’t there.”

Neither were some of the starters. Senior forward Lucious Harris--the North Valley League MVP who will attend Cal State Long Beach in the fall--finished with 13 points but only had one field goal in the second half. He also threw away an inbounds pass that Fairfax turned into the winning basket with two seconds left.

New Mexico State-bound center Warren Harrell made all 12 of his free throws but did not score from the field and had only one field goal in two playoff games.

Guard Adonis Jordan, who will attend Kansas, finished with eight points--11 below his season average--and missed a critical free throw with 19 seconds left and his team ahead by two points.

“A lot of people told me (Thursday) that it wasn’t my fault, that it doesn’t come down to just one missed shot,” Jordan said. “But if I could have put those two free throws down--or if I just put one down--we would have been in good shape.”

Fairfax, meanwhile, received 13 points from its bench, including 10 from Wylie Menefee, who scored six points in the final 52 seconds.

Braswell said that the loss may have had its beginnings well before the final seconds ticked away.

Cleveland cruised to a 10-0 record in Northwest Valley Conference play, taking the North Valley League title in the process. Yet Braswell said he believes Cleveland’s early success--which included winning the championship of the 30-team Las Vegas Holiday tournament in late December--and the overall weakness of its conference schedule may have lulled the team to sleep.

“We knew we’d be mixed in with a 3-A league,” said Braswell in reference to the West Valley League, which makes up half of the conference. “We tried to schedule the toughest preseason games, with tournaments and all.

“But these kids are 14, 15, 16 years old. They can develop a false sense of security. We win 10 or 11 straight league games and 18 or 19 in a row overall--by some pretty sizable margins--and sometimes you start to think differently.”

Fairfax (13-11) finished third in Metro League play but played teams such as Manual Arts (ranked No. 5 in the nation by USA Today) and Westchester (nationally ranked in several preseason polls).

Cleveland had trouble playing out of a halfcourt set all season. Against Fairfax, Cleveland scored no fast-break baskets and made just 12 of 37 field-goal attempts. Cleveland also turned the ball over 19 times.

“We knew they’d try to delay the ball and hold (the score) down,” Braswell said. “We practiced it and practiced it, but you can’t play the game for them.”

Braswell insisted that despite the late-season letdown, Cleveland (21-3) had one of its best teams and strongest seasons in his tenure.

“I don’t think we were underachievers, though some people are sure to call us that,” said Braswell, who stayed home from school on Thursday. “It was disappointing, but it was still a successful year.

“These are the playoffs. The best team doesn’t always win.”

Cleveland will not have much time to reflect on 1987-88. The team begins playing anew in April, when spring-league play opens. Braswell said that he is considering accepting tournament invitations to play in Hawaii, Seattle and the Bay Area next season.

“I don’t believe in rebuilding years,” Braswell said. “We’ll take some time off, then it’s back at it.”