Lee Saves His Best (29 Points) for Last

At the conclusion of practice the day before the North Hollywood High boys’ basketball team played at Grant for a share of the East Valley League title, the Huskies held a brief meeting.

Starting with Coach Rob Bloom, each member of the team got to say what was on his mind. Senior DeJon Lee went last.

“He just said he was going to leave everything on the floor to help us get a league title,” Bloom said.

Lee played his best game of the season, scoring 13 of his season-high 29 points in the fourth quarter and the Huskies defeated the Lancers, 72-63, on Friday for a part of their first crown since 1994.

Grant (17-8, 8-2) also finished tied for first, but North Hollywood (18-8, 8-2) will be seeded higher in the City Section 4-A playoffs because of a 5-1 record in league games. The Lancers were 4-2.

Before the game, Lee knew he would have to contribute heavily. North Hollywood was playing without center Jonathan Hicks, who twisted an ankle in practice on Thursday.

But Lee’s offense became even more valuable because teammate Keron Wilkerson, the third-leading scorer among City players from the region, suffered through a horrible shooting night.

Wilkerson was three of 19 from the field and didn’t make a basket outside of three feet. He finished with 11 points, 14 below his average.

“I felt I could take this game whenever I wanted,” Lee said. “It was just a matter of when.”

The beginning of the fourth quarter was an opportune time. Grant scored the last seven points of the third quarter and held a 46-44 lead.

After a basket by Greg Roller, Lee added two more, then hit his fourth three-point shot of the game.

Lee, one of the quickest players in the Valley Pac-8 Conference, also had five steals.

“Even if I didn’t score any points, this would be my best game of the season,” Lee said. “We were playing for the league title and we won. That’s all that matters.”

The Lancers were playing with hardships of their own. Adir Levy, Grant’s second-leading scorer, couldn’t play because of a broken nose he suffered when he was punched by a opposing player during a postgame handshake earlier this week.

And Grant played half of the second quarter without star point guard Gilbert Arenas, who got his third foul midway through the period.

The Huskies failed to take advantage with Arenas out, leading by only four points at halftime.

“I thought we did a good job in the first half,” said Grant Coach Howard Levine. “But [North Hollywood] started pulling away and we played like a young team.”