Ineligible Player Gets Carson Disqualified From City Playoffs

Hours before it was to take on Dorsey High in the semifinals of the City Section boys’ basketball playoffs Tuesday night, Carson was disqualified for using an ineligible player.

Barbara Fiege, City athletic commissioner, said she received an anonymous fax Tuesday morning giving detailed information about a Carson player who was academically ineligible. Fiege contacted school officials, and they later confirmed the information.

Senior Anthony Browder, has been ineligible since grades were issued on Feb. 7. Coach Richard Masson thought Browder had done makeup work to improve his grades, so he let him play in the last six games, including two in the playoffs. Masson said he was unaware that grades could not be changed.

Although Masson said he is upset at himself for not double-checking the rules, he is even more devastated that the fax came from someone at Carson.

Reseda Cleveland, eliminated by Carson in the quarterfinals last Friday, replaces the Colts. It plays Dorsey in a rescheduled Division 4-A semifinal tonight at Crenshaw High. The winner will face Crenshaw in the championship game Friday night at the Sports Arena.

Fiege said City rules require that a team eliminated in the playoffs be replaced by the team it last defeated.

Browder, a 6-foot-4 forward, is one of Carson’s top players. He scored 15 points in the Colts’ first-round playoff game against Venice and added a game-high 21 points against Cleveland.

Carson has to forfeit three games, changing its record to 15-10.