Too Much Lakey for Alemany

Why would there ever be a rivalry between Harvard-Westlake High, winner of two state titles in the last three seasons, and Alemany, winner of one game last season?

But there it was Friday night for all to see, an emotional Mission League game that featured pregame technical fouls, a first-quarter ejection and in the end, an 89-80 victory by Harvard-Westlake.

Russell Lakey scored 26 points for Harvard-Westlake (9-8, 2-1 in league play), which, after losing to Crespi on Wednesday, would have been in a deep early-season hole with a loss to Alemany.

“This was a must-win game for us,” said Lakey, who, because of the strength of the Mission League, was not exaggerating.

“We needed this to keep our playoff hopes alive.”

The fun began during pregame warmups, when Harvard-Westlake was hit with a technical foul for dunking after being warned by the officials.

Devin Montgomery, who scored 28 points, made one of two free throws and Alemany (8-5, 1-1) held a 1-0 lead before the game even started.

Just 1:34 into the first quarter, forward Reggie Kinlaw of Alemany was ejected by referee Dave White for throwing an elbow at Kelechi Obgunamiri.

Twenty-one players saw action in the first quarter, 45 free throws were shot by halftime and, after Eric Geffner completed a three-point play with five seconds left, the game was tied, 40-40, at the half.

The Wolverines atoned for making only 11 of 23 free throws in the first half with a strong start in the third quarter, reeling off eight consecutive points to take a 61-45 lead.

Alemany forced seven turnovers in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter and closed to within 69-65.

But Harvard-Westlake steadied, with Lakey scoring seven points in the final five minutes to help finish off Alemany, ranked No. 4 in the region by The Times.

“We proved we can play with the best teams in the Valley,” Lakey said.

Team chemistry had been a problem for the Wolverines, who had four players out with injuries against Alemany and had never fully recovered from, ironically, the success of the football team.

Dual-sport standout Alex Holmes was one of three basketball players who spent an extra month on the football field during the Wolverines’ unexpected playoff run.

“It’s been an odd year,” Coach Greg Hilliard of Harvard-Westlake said.

Alemany had similar problems, with six of its players spending overtime in football pads as the Indians advanced to the Southern Section Division III semifinals. But the transition to basketball has been much smoother, as evidenced by an eight-game winning streak.