Revamped Cleveland Posts Upset : Prep basketball: Two recent additions to the Cavalier roster pave the way to a 52-51 victory over Kennedy.

Let’s see if Shawn Bankhead’s postulate--fewer points for him, more victories for the team--has soaked in.

Despite the fact that Bankhead was held to 12 points--well under his 29-point average--Cleveland High nonetheless upset Kennedy, 52-51, in a North Valley League basketball game at Cleveland on Wednesday.

“I liked today,” Bankhead said. “I liked it a lot .”

The victory by Cleveland threw a wrench into Kennedy’s hopes of swiping the league title. The Golden Cougars fell to 15-7, 4-3 in league play with three games remaining. League-leading Taft defeated Granada Hills, 95-75, Wednesday and improved to 6-1 in league play.

The key to Cleveland’s improbable victory was simple: Bankhead had help. Two players who weren’t on the varsity two weeks ago because of academic trouble had superlative games, and their performance against Kennedy was enough to make Coach Kevin Crider positively beam.

“The problem all along has been grades,” Crider said. “It was just a matter of time before we got it all together.”

Senior guard Terrayne Evans had 16 points for Cleveland (7-12, 4-3) and has averaged 18 points in three games since he rejoined the team after making up work in last month’s intersession period.

Sophomore Edtwaun Adams was even more of a surprise. Adams spent the season with the Cavalier junior varsity before he was declared academically ineligible. On his return, Adams was promoted and in his first varsity game burned Kennedy for 15 points.

Adams scored eight points in the fourth quarter, when Cleveland was content to play Kennedy’s half-court game. Adams buried a three-point basket with 3 minutes 50 seconds left to bring the Cavaliers within 46-45 and Bankhead followed with a basket inside for a one-point lead.

Kennedy guard Joe Wyatt, who scored a game-high 24 points, knifed inside, was fouled, and completed the three-point play to give the Golden Cougars a 49-47 lead with 3:16 left.

Wyatt then scored on a fast break after a Cleveland miss for a four-point lead with 2:59 remaining, but it marked Kennedy’s final points.

Adams scored inside and, after a miss by Kennedy’s Ronnie Gipson (10 points), added a free throw to cut the deficit to one with 1:28 left.

Kennedy tried to run down the clock, but Bobby Winn was called for traveling with 1:06 left, and Bankhead scored on a baseline jump shot to give Cleveland a 52-51 lead with 33 seconds to play.

After a timeout, Kennedy was unable to find an open man and Shauhin Talesh (10 points) was forced to take a running, off-balance 10-footer that banged off the rim with two seconds left and into the hands of Bankhead.

Wyatt failed to touch the ball on the last possession, but more damaging were three turnovers in the final four minutes, which was more than enough to erase Kennedy’s four-point lead.

Bankhead, a junior forward, was smothered throughout with double coverage and made just five of 15 shots from the field. His teammates bailed him out, though, and the Cavaliers allowed Kennedy to dictate the pace.

“We had to slow it up,” Bankhead said. “They came at me with the box-and-one, like I knew they would, but we didn’t rush like we did last week (in a loss to) Taft.”

Despite Bankhead’s lack of production, what a rush it was.