Title Fits Perennial Winners Yet Again

It is a given that the Crenshaw High boys’ basketball team will be a title contender every season.

So, it didn’t come as a surprise to most of the 11,655 at Arco Arena Saturday night when Crenshaw defeated newcomer Concord De La Salle, 91- 81, for its record seventh State Division I championship.

Even when De La Salle made a late run at the Cougars and held a brief lead, 77-75, with three minutes to play, there was a feeling it wouldn’t last.

“They’re tough to run with for 32 minutes,” said De La Salle center Sean Farnham, who finished with 22 points and seven rebounds. “Their speed and quickness is incredible, and we knew that coming in. We tried not to give up.”

Since Crenshaw Coach Willie West took over in 1970, his teams have won 24 league titles and a record 15 City Section titles. His record in state championship games is 7-0, far better than anyone else’s.

What differentiates this season’s team is that its finish exceeded most expectations, even at a school where titles are the norm. Crenshaw (29-5) lost four games before beginning its league schedule, and one of those losses, 90-74, to St. Anthony of New Jersey, was uncharacteristically lopsided.

Three games into league the Cougars were defeated by Wilmington Banning for the first time in more than a decade. Still, confidence prevailed.

“We always know we could win the state title,” said Crenshaw guard Alastair Faux, who led the team in scoring all season and had a game-high 24 points against De La Salle. “It didn’t bother me what other people were saying about us and how other teams were better. None of that even fazed me.”

Crenshaw struggled in the section playoffs, posting narrows victories over Carson and Palisades before defeating Fremont, 82-81, on a last-second shot by Faux in the championship game.

The Cougars were coming off a 78-67 victory over Santa Ana Mater Dei in the Southern Regional final last Saturday and figured to have little trouble with De La Salle (25-8), which finished second in its league and was unseeded in the state playoffs.

De La Salle, which averaged 57 points in its three state tournament games, tried to run with Crenshaw and had some success. The game was tied, 22-22, at the end of the first quarter, and the Spartans trailed by only five, 43-38, at halftime.

Faux hit a pair of three-point shots in the third quarter as the Cougars built leads as big as nine points.

De La Salle got its second breath, however, as junior guard Brandon Payton broke out of a shooting slump and hit four baskets and added five free throws in a three-minute stretch in which the Spartans took only their second lead of the game, 77-75.

But a refreshed Crenshaw regained control with Faux hitting a couple of key baskets and Kevin Bradley making a short jump shot as the Cougars took back the lead, 83-81.

“I wasn’t especially worried because things were happening on the court that I knew would eventually favor us,” West said. “I made sure our kids got their heads back in the game and they responded.”

Bradley also scored 24 points for Crenshaw, and Allison Carter had a game-high 12 rebounds. Crenshaw also set a state finals’ records with its 91 points, bettering its own mark of 89 set in 1994.

Payton, younger brother of Gary Payton of the Seattle SuperSonics, led the Spartans with 28 points.