Lattimore Saves Granada Hills on a Cold Night

Step right up, Aaron Lattimore, and try your luck. This is a cast-off carnival and it’s your turn to throw the dart. Nobody else on the Granada Hills High team can hit a darn thing, so why not give it a shot?

Off-guard Osiris Nalls? Off night. Point guard Jermoine Brantley? Pointedly cold.

“When those guys aren’t on, somebody has to step in,” Lattimore said with a shrug. “I happened to be the one tonight.”

Lattimore was the one for the Valley’s top-ranked Highlanders, scoring a career-high 29 points as Granada Hills rallied from a 10-point third-quarter deficit to defeat Taft, 73-69, in a North Valley League game Wednesday at Taft.

Lattimore was inside. He was outside. He was everywhere. “He killed us,” Taft Coach Jim Woodard said.

Brantley, who had 19 points, made four of 18 shots from the field. Nalls was equally iced, making four of 12. Lattimore saved the day--not to mention Granada Hills’ share of first place in the league standings--by connecting on 12 of 17.

“That’s the way it’s been all year,” said Granada Hills Coach Bob Johnson, whose team improved to 17-7, 8-1 in league play. “It seems like we have five or six guys who can step forward if someone else has trouble.”

Taft (13-10, 3-6) was trouble aplenty. James Yoakum--who had 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists--made a three-point shot to give Taft a 51-41 lead with 5 minutes 35 seconds left in the third quarter. However, Granada Hills outscored Taft, 18-3, the rest of the quarter to take a 59-57 lead.

But the Highlanders went cold as quickly as they had heated up. Brantley missed his first five shots of the fourth quarter--in all, Granada Hills missed its first eight from the field--before Lattimore knocked down a jump shot with 5:30 left to tie the score, 61-61.

With Granada Hills leading, 66-65, Lattimore stole the ball at halfcourt and converted the layup. Taft answered when Jason Deyoe (18 points) made a pair of free throws with 2:06 left to again trim the lead to one.

With the Highlanders in a spread offense, Lattimore hooked up with Nalls on a give-and-go for a 70-67 lead with 1:40 remaining. Casey Sheahan’s three-point attempt on Taft’s next trip down the floor was blocked and Brantley made both ends of a one-and-one with 52 seconds left to clinch it.