North Hollywood Sets Furious Pace in Rout of Taft

When Steve Miller walked into the North Hollywood High gym Wednesday night sporting a suit and tie, odds were good that it meant one of two things.

Miller may be known as the coach of the best basketball team in the region, but a fashion plate he isn’t.

“If he’s wearing a suit,” said Rich Allen, the school’s girls’ coach, “it’s either the playoffs or a funeral.”

Actually, it was both.

North Hollywood buried Taft, 94-54, in a first-round game of the City Section 4-A Division playoffs.

North Hollywood forced 26 turnovers with its quick-strike defense, more than enough to put Taft away before the seats were warm.

“We came out real tight and real stiff,” Taft guard Chris Ng said.

Rigor mortis quickly followed.

Second-seeded North Hollywood (25-1) jumped to a 21-0 lead before Taft center Johnny Williams scored on a turnaround jumper with 2 minutes 55 seconds left in the first quarter. Taft called time out twice during the run.

“They scored three touchdowns, just like that,” Taft Coach Jim Woodard said, forcing a smile. “Geez, 21-0. They even made their extra points.”

How bad was it? Several students walked out of the stands for a halftime shooting contest and three made shots from the half-court circle. Taft made only seven of 20 shots and trailed, 46-16, at halftime.

The Toreadors (11-10) turned the ball over every way imaginable: backcourt, inbounds and lane violations, traveling and charging calls, you name it.

During the 21-0 run, the Huskies made eight of 13 shots. The feeding frenzy was afoot and there were no letdowns.

“We were ready to play; that’s the important thing,” Miller said. “We have to put it all behind us. It gets tougher every game.”

North Hollywood’s starting guards caused most of the damage. Sophomore Arthur Lee scored 20 points, and junior guard Fantasia Johnson scored a game-high 23. The pair shackled Ng (two points) and point guard Lamont Magee (12).

The Huskies’ starting forwards, Anson Credille and Romain Coleman, also were effective, combining for 27 points.

Williams scored 18 points--including eight in the third quarter--and had three impressive dunks. Williams sparked a belated run in the third quarter, when Taft made four of its first six shots to close to within 52-25, but North Hollywood went on an 11-2 run.

North Hollywood did the damage from every spot on the floor. While the forwards were banging bodies inside, the guards were bombing away from the perimeter. Lee drilled four three-point baskets, Mike Williams added two and Johnson and Coleman added one apiece.

Junior center Damon Ollie, normally North Hollywood’s dominant man in the middle, wasn’t even needed. He scored the team’s first two baskets on a pair of nifty tipins after long jumpers and finished with seven points.

To continue Woodard’s football metaphor, it was, well, a Super Bowl.

“It was a complete breakdown,” Woodard said. “We did lots of things wrong. Their press lulled us to sleep. . . .”

Woodard then took a deep breath and thought for a moment about what he had just said.

“Plus, they’re a lot better team that we are,” he acknowledged.