ST. MONICA TOURNAMENT : Fairfax Puts Cleveland Down for Count Again

Hard-core Valley basketball fans, take a deep breath and sit down before reading this next sentence.

Ready?

The Cleveland High basketball team is 1-3.

Yes, that Cleveland. The same school that is perennially among the Valley’s best and as recently as last season went 21-3.

Friday night in the St. Monica basketball tournament, the Cavaliers blew a seven-point first-half lead before getting drubbed by a scrappy Fairfax team, 57-41.

“We haven’t played as badly in any two quarters as we did tonight in the second half,” said Marc Paez, the Cleveland coach. “But I’m sure that tonight’s second half is isolated. I don’t know if any logical connection can be drawn between the way we played tonight and our losses to Muir and Westchester.”

He’s probably right. After all, Cleveland looked like it would spank Fairfax (3-0) from the outset, taking a 15-8 first quarter lead while making seven of eight free throws.

But that was all a near-capacity crowd at the tiny St. Monica gym would see of quality Cleveland basketball. Fairfax took over behind three pesky 6-foot-1 guards--Rodney Sanders (eight points), Roderick Sullivan (13) and John Woollery (seven).

In another tournament game:

Westlake 42, Crossroads 40--Lonnie Chavez hit the front end of a one-and-one with three seconds left to seal the comeback win for Westlake (2-2) and earn the Warriors a berth in the consolation final against Cathedral, which beat Sherman Oaks CES.

Dave Monheim scored a team-high nine points for Westlake, and Matt Heckmann grabbed nine rebounds.