Even With Guard Down, Cleveland Wins, 77-75

With high-scoring guard Kent Dennis missing shot after shot, Cleveland High turned to center Brian Smith to prevent an upset Friday night.

Smith scored 23 points and the Cavaliers held off Taft, 77-75, to clinch a share of the West Valley League championship with two games to play.

Cleveland (18-4, 8-0 in league play) was overdue for a letdown after its showdown victory over Chatsworth on Wednesday, and Taft (11-7, 4-4) took advantage.

The Toreadors trailed by two points at halftime but were outscored, 15-6, in the third quarter. Then they put together a 36-point fourth quarter that featured three three-pointers by Raja Boykins.

Shayne Berry made a three-pointer with five seconds left to pull the Toreadors to within two points, but they had no timeouts remaining and Cleveland let the clock run out.

Kenny Mason contributed 16 points and Larry Knox 12 for Cleveland. Dennis made three of 15 shots.

If Cleveland is the likely West Valley champion this season, Taft is the team of the future. Sophomore Cecil Brown, a 6-foot-3 forward, scored 16 points and had 11 rebounds for the Toreadors and junior Thaddis Bosley had 16 points.