CITY 4-A BOYS’ FINALS : Crenshaw Wears Another Crown : Championship: The Cougars rely on depth to maul the Dons, 72-53, because their top guns have trouble finding the target.

For the third time this season Dorsey played cross-town rival Crenshaw--and for the third time the Dons lost.

The third loss, 72-53, came Friday night in the City Section 4-A Division finals before 6,500 fans at the Sports Arena.

The Cougars, who won their second consecutive City title, are going to need a laundry to keep their record 13 City title banners clean.

Tremaine Fowlkes led Crenshaw with 18 points and 16 rebounds. Kristaan Johnson, the 1993 City 4-A Player of the Year, had only eight points before fouling out with 4:56 left in the fourth quarter. Reggie McFerren, the Cougars’ other top scorer, had seven points.

“I don’t think any of our top players had a good game, including Tremaine,” Crenshaw Coach Willie West said. “We were flat. I don’t know for what reason. We were not fired up, but we still won.”

Crenshaw has won seven games in a row during the last three seasons against Dorsey, including league drubbings of 33 and 47 points this season.

Crenshaw’s big three scorers--Johnson, Fowlkes and McFerren--together missed their first eight shots. The Dons came out aggressively and held a 10-7 lead midway in the first quarter.

But the Cougars took advantage of their depth and went on a 9-2 run to take a 16-12 lead at the first quarter. That lead grew to 31-23 at halftime as the Dons managed only two field goals and missed all four of their free throws in the second quarter. Dorsey was seven-for-14 from the free-throw line in the first half.

The Cougars traded baskets with Dorsey for the first six minutes of the third quarter before going on a 7-1 spurt to take a 47-34 lead. The Dons could not get closer than nine points in the fourth quarter.

Dorsey guard Ricky Blackmon had 17 points before fouling out with 3:38 left in the game. With Friday night’s victory, Crenshaw received an automatic bid to the State tournament and will begin defense of its Division I title Tuesday in the Southern Regionals. However, Dorsey will not get the City’s second nomination, unlike last season when the Dons were runners-up. That at-large bid may go to Fremont (22-6), which lost to the Cougars, 96-77, in the semifinals Wednesday.

If everything goes as expected, the Cougars hope to play Santa Ana Mater Dei on Saturday at Anaheim Stadium, in a rematch of last season’s Southern Regional. The Cougars have won a record five State titles.

Records: Crenshaw 25-2; Dorsey 16-9.