Grant Hands North Hollywood 2nd Loss

Images linger from Wednesday’s Grant-North Hollywood high battle of the neighborhood rivals:

Grant point guard JoJo Halberstadt, leaping about at midcourt, gleefully waving his arms after having fired a bullet-like pass to teammate Rene de la Hoya, who scored the game’s final--and winning--basket with five seconds left.

The Grant student section, simultaneously erupting in a frenzy.

North Hollywood forward Harry Marks, after a stellar performance, burying his head in a towel--and not surfacing for some time.

On last-second heroics, Grant prevailed, 48-46, in this marquee game of the Valley Pac-8 Conference season.

North Hollywood (15-2, 3-1 in conference play) had suffered its lone loss to Grant in a December tournament game. In an understatement, then, the Huskies had looked forward to the rematch.

Grant Coach Howard Levine, though, knew that his team could beat the Huskies again if the Lances just neutralized the Huskies’ do-everything center, Dana Jones.

The Lancers (14-3, 4-0), therefore, stuck to a 2-3 zone that gave new meaning to the term clogging the paint. Any time North Hollywood even considered passing the ball down low to Jones, five Grant players, principally led by center Brunell Mori, collapsed into the key.

Mori and the defense stifled Jones to the extent that he attempted just four field goals. He scored only six points.

“That was the plan,” a smiling Levine said after the game.

With Jones ineffective, the contest turned into a battle between the game’s two most intense players--Grant guard Keith Weinstein and North Hollywood’s Marks. The two traded clutch baskets throughout the game.

With the score tied, 37-37, and 6:03 remaining, Weinstein launched--and was fouled on--an NBA-distance three-point shot that hit all net. The free throw made it 41-37. Marks--who finished with a team-high 20 points--retaliated with a three-point shot of his own and then, after a steal of the inbounds pass, hit a 10-foot jump shot to swing the lead back in North Hollywood’s favor, 42-41.

There was more. With 28 seconds remaining and North Hollywood leading, 44-43, Weinstein--who finished with a game-high 25 points and five three-point baskets--picked up a loose ball on defense and broke away for a layup. Again he was fouled and he converted the free throw to give Grant a 46-44 lead.

Marks, however, would not roll over. Fouled with 17 seconds left, he nailed both free throws to tie the score, 46-46.

But that set the stage for Halberstadt’s 10th--and most vital--assist. De La Hoya’s layup finished the scoring and finished the Huskies.