Reseda Gets Victory in Face of Adversity

Reseda High trailed by 12 points early in the second quarter of its City Section 3-A playoff game with San Pedro Wednesday night.

Starting point guard Trenton Cross was sitting in the stands in street clothes with a cast on his left foot. Back-up point guard Damon Bailey was sitting on the bench with three fouls. And assistant coach Brad Katz had just been hit with a technical foul.

It seemed an odd time for the top-seeded Regents to pick up their game, but pick it up they did, rebounding from a slow start and winning their first-round game over the Pirates, 82-67, at Birmingham High.

The game was played at Birmingham because Reseda’s gym is still damaged from last month’s earthquake.

Faced with a 28-16 deficit, Reseda Coach Jeff Halpern turned to role-player Reggie James to play the point and give the team a spark.

James did just that, scoring five of his seven points during a 13-2 run to pull the Regents back into the game.

“Reggie was one of the players who hadn’t seen a lot of time during the regular season but he came in and stepped it up,” Halpern said. “I think he wanted to get a little bit of revenge from football.”

James was the starting quarterback on the Reseda football team that lost to the Pirates in the City Section 3-A semifinals.

Reseda (18-1) finally pulled even at halftime, 35-35. The teams traded the lead until early in the fourth quarter, when center Roderick Jones and forward Archie Williams finished off the Pirates (9-15).

Jones scored 10 of his 22 points in the final quarter and posted a game-high 14 rebounds, including several on the offensive end which turned into baskets or free-throw opportunities.

“I thought we were going to have to turn our uniforms in,” Jones said. “I couldn’t feel my legs in the first quarter, (but) then guys from the bench started playing well and I got into a rhythm in the second half.”

Williams finished with a game-high 23 points despite not starting after missing two practices over the past week because his family was moving.

But Williams didn’t miss much action in he second half, because Bailey (14 points) got into foul trouble early, picking up his fourth foul a minute into the second half.

Reseda sealed the win with free-throw shooting.

The Regents made 14 of 18 from the line in the fourth quarter and 34 of 43 for the game. The Pirates began firing three-pointers in desperation, making only one of 10 from the perimeter in the final quarter.

Reseda plays Roosevelt in the second round Friday.