Crenshaw’s Reign Is Ended When Clovis West Wins, 67-62

Crenshaw High learned Thursday night that a full-court press can be both a team’s best friend and its worst enemy.

Crenshaw, which had used a pressing defense to help erase a six-point fourth-quarter deficit against Fresno Clovis West, gave up a decisive layup with 41 seconds to play, helping the Golden Eagles to a 67-62 victory in the second round of the CIF Southern Regional Division I boys’ basketball playoffs at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

With the score tied at 60-60, Clovis West’s Nathan Fast, though surrounded by three Crenshaw defenders just outside the three-point line, spotted a wide-open Preston Miller under the basket. Miller’s uncontested layup gave the Golden Eagles a 62-60 lead.

Clovis West (28-2) then made five of six free throws in the final 31 seconds to lock up the victory and earn a trip to The Pond of Anaheim to face Santa Ana Mater Dei in the regional final Saturday night.

“We weren’t supposed to rotate up on that defense,” said Crenshaw Coach Willie West after his team was denied a chance at a third consecutive state title. “We made the wrong play and didn’t get the steal, and (Fast) made a good pass.”

Said Fast, who scored 17 points: “I wasn’t surprised they tried to trap me in the half-court offense. That’s their game. I was just happy to see Preston open and I was more happy when the shot went in.”

Miller was in that tough spot where if he misses an easy shot in crunch time, he becomes the goat. Fortunately for him, he didn’t have time to think about it.

“If I had thought about what would happen if I missed it, I would have missed it,” Miller said. “It was a nice feeling when it went in.”

Crenshaw (25-6) wouldn’t have been in the game if not for its pressure defense, which forced numerous turnovers to help offset a poor shooting night.

Crenshaw, which made only 33.8% of its shots, trailed, 56-50, with 3:32 to play.

But Damian Willis (11 points) scored five points and Kevin Bradley (13 points) added four to key a 10-4 spurt, tying the score at 60-60 with 1:02 remaining.

“We missed so many layups it was unreal,” West said. “You can’t do that in championship games.

“If we make our layups, we probably win by 20 points.”

Clovis West’s Casey Cleveland led all scorers with 18 points. Crenshaw was led by Ronnie Arch, who scored 14 points before fouling out with 1:54 remaining.