GAME OF THE WEEK : Fremont Rings Up Win in Bell Tourney

After weeks of speaking on the telephone, Fremont High’s Tommie Davis and Andrew Dawson could not wait to face each other on the court. Dawson played at Fremont last season before transferring to Manual Arts this fall.

“(Dawson) has been calling me every night since November, saying ‘We’re going to beat you,’ ” Davis said. “I’ve been wanting to play Manual Arts every day. I couldn’t wait to face my old homie.”

The wait was worth it for Davis, who led Fremont to a 66-63 victory Friday night in in the championship final of the Bell Invitational tournament.

The 5-foot-8 junior guard scored seven of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, including a pair of free throws that gave the Pathfinders a 65-59 lead with 34 seconds to play.

Rickey Brown had a game-high 26 points for Fremont and finished with 56 points in three tournament games. Troy Matthews led Manual Arts with 25 points, and Dawson scored 18. After nine lead changes and three ties in the second half, Demetrius Sandford put the Pathfinders ahead for good, 53-52, on a three-point basket with four minutes to play. Leslie Bean made three free throws and Davis connected from three-point range as the Pathfinders increased their lead to 59-54 with 2:21 left.

Soeki Thompson, who also transferred from Fremont to Manual Arts, brought the Toilers to within 61-59 on a three-point basket, but the Pathfinders ran off four consecutive points to put the game out of reach.

“It’s was like playing against your best friend or your cousin and you don’t want him to get one up on you,” Fremont Coach Sam Sullivan said. “I knew it would be a war and it would come down right to the end.”

After trailing 15-8 near the end of the first quarter, Fremont scored 20 unanswered points--13 of them by Brown--to build a 28-15 advantage with three minutes left in the first half.

Matthews and Dawson, however, combined for the Toilers’ next 13 points, and Manual Arts closed to 32-31 on a three-point basket by Dawson as time expired at the end of the second quarter.

Records: Fremont 11-4, Manual Arts 11-5.