Anderson Gets the Points Across : High schools: Banning senior leads the South Bay in scoring with a 38.1 average.

Jabari Anderson might not realize it, but the Banning High senior and the Sacramento Kings have something in common.

Each scored 59 points in a basketball game last week.

It’s safe to say, though, that Sacramento’s dubious achievement in a 101-59 loss to the Charlotte Hornets--it was the second-lowest team point total in NBA history--will never be confused with Anderson’s performance Friday at Crenshaw.

His 59 points in a 114-101 Banning loss represented the most points scored against a Crenshaw team coached by Willie West, who has guided the Cougars to four state titles and 11 L.A. City championships since 1971.

“Nobody has ever scored 50 against us before,” West said. “We’ve had kids do well . . . Dwayne Polee of Manual (Arts) and one or two others. But nobody has ever scored that many points against us.”

Anderson, a 6-foot-3 swingman, did most of his damage in the second half, when he scored 45 points, including five three-point baskets. He scored 27 in the fourth quarter.

“Oh yeah, he was hot,” West said. “There were a couple of things we did to try and stop him. We went to a man-to-man (defense) and forced him to shoot from farther out, and he made those, too.

“We were not as effective defensively as I hoped we’d be. There were some in-house problems going on that I had to take care of. It made a difference in the outcome. But I’m not saying he wouldn’t have still done it.”

Anderson, the South Bay’s leading scorer with a 38.1 average, said he had no idea he had scored so many points. His feat is even more remarkable when you consider that he sat out approximately six minutes in the first half because of disciplinary action (he did not start after missing a practice) and an injury (he was elbowed in the nose in the second quarter).

“I was very surprised,” he said. “I thought I probably had about 40.”

Banning Coach Marc Paez was also caught off guard by Anderson’s total.

“If someone had asked me after the game, I would have said 38 or 40,” he said. “That’s partly because he always seems to have 38 points.

“He has very few weaknesses offensively. He’s not particularly strong inside, but he’s very quick and he has an uncanny knack of not having his shots blocked. And he’s as good an outside shooter as I’ve seen.”

Unfortunately for Banning, Anderson’s efforts have largely gone unrewarded this season. The Pilots, who returned only one varsity player (Anderson) from last season, are 5-14 following Wednesday’s 80-76 overtime victory over Dorsey at Banning. Anderson scored 43 points on 13-for-29 shooting, including eight for 13 from three-point range.

“I’d hate to think of the team without him,” said Paez, in his first year at Banning after coaching Cleveland of Reseda last season. “I’d hate to think what kind of a struggle it would be without his 37 (points a game).”

Anderson also leads the team in rebounding, averaging eight a game.

“Basically, I’m just doing what is needed for the team,” he said. “But having such a fine season and not being able to win, that kind of hurts.”

Sadly, Anderson is used to dealing with such pain.

Raised in a broken home, Anderson has bounced around from one relative to another. He transferred from Eisenhower High in Rialto to Carson in the 10th grade after moving to live with an uncle. After two days at Carson, however, he checked out and enrolled at Banning.

Anderson has remained at Banning, despite the fact that he lived with an aunt near Crenshaw High last year and is currently living with his grandmother, who resides near Washington High in the Athens area.

Although he is bright and articulate, Anderson said the frequent moves and family upheavals have taken a toll on his grades. He doesn’t expect to qualify for a four-year college and is planning to attend a community college next fall.

Kings River College in Reedley, near Fresno, is one of the schools he is interested in.

“I’d liked to get away from L.A.,” he said. “I really want to try and make it by myself, with no distractions.”

Anderson said he considered transferring to Crenshaw for his senior year, but decided against it because of his close relationship with former Banning Coach Gary Cain. Then he learned that Cain would not return this season.

“When Coach Cain didn’t come back, I was shocked and disappointed,” he said. “But I made the adjustment under the new coach, Marc Paez, and it’s been working out. I’m glad I’m here.”

Anderson said that when he lived near Crenshaw last year, he frequently walked to the school’s gym at night to shoot around with the Cougar players.

“I know most of the Crenshaw players real well,” he said. “I know a lot of them were kind of shocked (in Friday’s game). They came up to me after the game and said, ‘I didn’t know you could do all this. You got much better.’ ”

Anderson’s improvement has been most noticeable in his scoring average. He averaged 22 points a game and was chosen to the All-Pacific League first team last season.

This season, he has scored in the 30s in nearly every game. Before Friday, his best game was 53 points and eight three-point baskets against Sunny Hills of Fullerton in the Gahr-Cerritos Tournament last month.

And, Paez says, Anderson’s numbers are not the result of an out-of-control scoring machine.

“I can remember only one bad shot that he took against Crenshaw,” Paez said. “It was not a case of him shooting a lot and missing. It might have been the best shot selection he had all season.”

Because Banning does not videotape its games and has no one who records shot attempts, it is not known what Anderson’s shooting percentage was against Crenshaw. Paez, though, says it was definitely over 50%. Anderson finished with 23 field goals, including five three-point shots, and eight free throws.

“My assistant coach and I were trying to figure out how many shots he missed,” Paez said. “I counted six and my assistant counted seven. That’s well over 50%. I’m going to try and get the film from Crenshaw.”

That would be just fine with Anderson. After all, seeing is believing.