BOYS’ ROUNDUP : Crenshaw Picks a Bad Time to Go Cold, 67-62

The phantom foul.

It came shortly after Corey Williams made the first of two free throws to give Crenshaw a 58-57 lead during the final two minutes against Clovis West in the Southern Regional semifinals on Thursday night.

With 1 minute and 54 seconds left, Williams missed the second free throw, but the Cougars downfall came when Ronnie Arch was called for fouling Kasen Adams.

The public address announcer at Cal State Dominguez Hills said Arch had committed his fourth foul. The Crenshaw scorekeeper had the same total, but not the official scorekeeper, who marked down five.

After a brief delay, Arch was escorted off the court after fouling out with a team-high 16 points.

“My scorekeeper said that Ronnie had only four fouls,” Crenshaw Coach Willie West said.

After Adams made the free throw to tie the score, Clovis West outscored the Cougars 9-4 en route to a 67-62 win. The loss prevented the two-time defending State Division I champion Cougars from playing Mater Dei of Santa Ana in the regional finals for the third consecutive year.

“It’s not a shock that we lost to them,” West said. “They beat us. They made their free throws and their layups. We didn’t.”

The Cougars made only 32% of their shots from the field and 54% of their free throws. Guard Antonio Simpson, who shot well in the City finals, made one of 11 shots in the first half and missed two more attempts in the second half.

In the first half, West used all 15 of his players, trying to find someone with a hot shooting hand.

Still, Crenshaw was in contention throughout the game. Arch scored 11 first-quarter points as the Cougars held a 21-17 lead. The Golden Eagles scored the first seven points of the second quarter and led 36-30 at halftime.

Clovis West maintained the lead until Damian Willis made a shot while driving to the basket to tie the score at 57. Williams’ free throw gave the Cougars their only lead of the second half.

After Kevin Bradley made a driving shot to tie the score at 60, Clovis West scored the back breaker. Despite being surrounded by three Cougars, point guard Nathan Fast threw a downcourt pass to Preston Miller, who made his only basket with 39 seconds left. The Golden Eagles then made five of six free throws to complete the upset.

*

Crenshaw 79, Nogales 69--Ronnie Arch, Antonio Simpson and Raymond Palmer combined to score 18 of Crenshaw’s 24 fourth-quarter points as the Cougars advanced in a Southern Regional Division I first-round game Tuesday night at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Records: Crenshaw 25-5; Nogales 26-5.