Cleveland Breaks a Rim and Fairfax

Maybe the poor guy was out of practice--after all, it had been three seasons since Cleveland High played at the Sports Arena--but Bobby McRae gave teammate Trenton Cornelius a lesson in how to properly remove a net from a rim.

Three minutes into the first quarter, Cornelius ripped the rim off the backboard on a dunk attempt.

Two hours later, after Cleveland had rallied from a 10-point deficit in the final 5 minutes 53 seconds of regulation, McRae was ripping down the victory net: The Cavaliers had stunned Fairfax, 65-58, in double overtime in a City Section 4-A Division quarterfinal game at Cleveland.

“I can’t believe we did it,” junior guard Kenny Collins said above the screams of the crowd that mobbed him. “We showed that we wanted it.”

Collins, substituting for starter Andre Chevalier, who fouled out in regulation, scored the first three points in the second overtime for Cleveland (21-5), which will play Crenshaw in the semifinals on Friday night at the Sports Arena.

Fairfax (20-6) appeared to be on the way to defeating third-seeded Cleveland early in the fourth quarter, and a reprise of last season’s playoff upset of the Cavaliers seemed certain. Cleveland, however, made 10 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter and Fairfax--fouled intentionally by the Cavaliers--made just nine of 14, missing the front end of four one-and-one situations.

A key basket in the Cleveland comeback was Pat McCook’s three-point shot with 57 seconds left in regulation, which brought Cleveland to within 56-51. Both of McCook’s feet were over the three-point line, but the referee signaled a three.

Jerome Johnson made two free throws with 50 seconds left, giving Fairfax a 58-51 lead--but it was the last points Fairfax would score.

McCook (10 points) scored inside with 40 seconds left and Johnson was whistled for a lane violation--while shooting a free throw--with 36 seconds left. Collins made two free throws with 28 seconds left to cut the lead to 58-55.

Jason Martin missed the front end of a one-and-one situation with 27 seconds remaining, and Cleveland called timeout after McRae (14 points) rebounded the miss. McCook missed a three-point shot, but Cleveland regained the ball when Johnson traveled.

With nine seconds left, McCook inbounded the ball to Eddie Hill (18 points), who missed a three-point shot. McRae rebounded and kicked the ball out to Hill, who found sophomore Brandon Martin (seven points) alone at the three-point stripe.

He hit it for a 58-58 tie.

“Something told me before the game that I’d be shooting a three,” Martin said. “I was out here 20 minutes before the game trying to extend my range. I just knew I’d have to take one.”

Neither team scored in the first overtime, with Hill and McCook both missing the front end of one-and-ones. In the second overtime, Collins rebounded a Hill miss and banked it in with 2:38 left for a two-point lead.

After Fairfax’s Rodney Sanders missed an NBA-distance three-point shot with 41 seconds left, Collins added a free throw with 33 seconds left and Hill and McCook each made two free throws to secure victory.