HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL NORTH HOLLYWOOD TOURNAMENT : Grant Rallies to Beat El Camino Real

Grant High unleashed a 10-3 run at the start of the fourth quarter to turn a three-point deficit into a four-point lead before pulling away for a 55-48 victory over El Camino Real in a first-round game of the North Hollywood basketball tournament Thursday.

The Lancers (5-1), who converted 81% (26 of 32) of their free throws, let a 28-23 halftime lead slip away after converting just one of 12 field goals in the third quarter.

El Camino Real (1-4) scored 10 unanswered points in the third quarter before Wayne Carlisle sank two free throws to cut the Conquistadore lead to 33-30.

But Grant saved its best for last--the last quarter, that is. The Lancers’ 10-3 run to start the fourth quarter gave them the lead again, 42-38, and the Lancers would not relinquish it.

“I thought we showed a little poise by coming back in the fourth quarter after the letdown in the third,” Grant Coach Howie Levine said.

Poise and perseverance best describe the play of Grant senior guard Darwin Alfelor in the fourth quarter.

Alfelor, who was six of six from the line, scored nine of his 12 points in that period and his three-point basket from the top of the key with 1 minute 48 seconds left helped extend the Lancers’ lead to 50-44.

“If (Alfelor) could just get it in his head that he’s a good player, he’d be great,” Levine said.

The Conquistadores also shot well from the line (80%), but they took only 10 shots, compared to the Lancers’ 32.

The Lancers hit 33% (13 of 40) of their shots from the field, but just 23% through the first three quarters.

Carlisle finished with a game-high 18 point for Grant, followed by Chris Field with 12.

El Camino Real’s Sam Sarpong scored 14 points, followed by Markee Brown with 11 and Kenyth Henry with 10.

In other tournament games:

Chatsworth 61, Granada Hills 52--Brady Mertes scored a game-high 20 points and Dennis Byrd added 15 to lead Chatsworth (6-2) in a first-round game.

Ken Manor scored 14 points for Chatsworth, which outscored Granada Hills, 16-6, in the second quarter and took a 36-25 halftime lead. Shelton Simmons scored 19 points for Granada Hills (2-6).

Reseda 58, Canoga Park 45--Marquis Burns scored a game-high 25 points to lead Reseda (3-2) in a first-round game. Chace Johnson scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter to lead Canoga Park.

North Hollywood 99, Bell-Jeff 48--DeShawn Harvey scored 22 points and Damon Ollie added 21, both in less than three quarters, to lead the Huskies (8-1) in a first-round rout. Ollie scored 20 first-half points as North Hollywood took a 57-28 lead at halftime.

Anson Credille and Tim O’Malley each scored 13 for the Huskies, who will face Grant at 7 tonight.