BANNING TOURNAMENT : Jefferson Gives Grant a Cold Dose of Reality

The Long Beach City College gym was almost devoid of human life Wednesday, except for some basketball players, coaches, officials and scorekeepers.

It was cold inside too. And it was 10:30 a.m.

Little wonder then, that if one had to find a reason behind the Grant High basketball team’s second loss in three days, it would be a lack of intensity. After all, how can you get psyched to play when you’re freezing and wish you were warm in bed?

Grant Coach Howard Levine has been a successful coach because he is a demanding one, however. Thus, he would brook no excuse for his team’s 80-69 loss to Jefferson (3-8) of the Southeastern League. The loss dropped Grant’s record to 8-2--four days after an upset of North Hollywood pushed the team’s mark to 7-0--and knocked the Lancers out of the Los Angeles Invitational/Banning tournament. Jefferson advances to the consolation championship with the win.

If you listen to Levine, the problem may lay in that win over North Hollywood. The victory propelled Grant to the top of most everyone’s list of top teams in the Valley. But woe is the Lancer who spends too much time worrying about that.

“If our guys start believing that we’re the No. 1 team in the Valley, then they’re gonna find out we’re not the No. 1 team in the Valley,” Levine said after the game, not hiding his disappointment. “If these guys start to believe their press clippings, then forget it.”

Press clippings or no, there did seem to be a lack of intensity on Grant’s part. Granted, this is the Lancers’ sixth game in seven days. Not even the frequent-fliers in the NBA log that many games in such a short a span.

“We’ve got some real tired legs,” Levine said before the game. “We’re vulnerable.”

And that could be the rub in searching for answers to the loss. Still, Jefferson, which Levine called a team to watch come 3-A playoff time, came at Grant with one of the more potent offensive weapons you’d want to see in a high school basketball game in 6-2 senior forward Robert Avery. The high-flying Avery scored 42 points and knocked down six three-point shots to consistently thwart any Lancer rally.

“He just tore us up,” Levine said.

But not all the Lancers somnambulated through this one. Rene de la Hoya, who is emerging as a bona fide star, nearly matched Avery hoop for hoop. The senior forward scored a career-high 34 points, making 13 of 16 shots from the field and eight of 12 free throws. De la Hoya scored most of his points as the deep man on Grant’s press-breaker, taking long passes and converting the four-foot shots with the accuracy of a surveyor.

Even de la Hoya could not stop Grant’s slide, however. The Lancers frittered away a seven-point first-quarter lead and Jefferson took the lead for good, 27-25, on an Avery jump shot with 4:34 left in the first half.

Jefferson took a 51-42 lead midway through the third period. Grant, however, persevered and, with guard Keith Weinstein adding 17 points, closed the gap to four at 64-60 with a little more than five minutes remaining.

But with 1:55 left, an Avery--who else?--three-point shot made it 75-64 and put Grant in its tomb.

In another tournament game:

San Pedro 93, Sylmar 74--Sylmar fell behind, 28-13, in the first quarter and had to play catch-up the rest of the game.

The Spartans closed the deficit to 10 at one point in the fourth quarter at 71-61, but San Pedro’s Mike Watts, who had 18 points, helped keep Sylmar at bay.

Donovan Walker scored a game-high 21 points, Jason Burd contributed 17 and Chad Gillis added 15 for Sylmar (4-4).