Taft Lets a Late Lead and Fremont Get Away

In 22 years of coaching at Fremont High, Sam Sullivan makes sure his players learn at least one thing: Never quit.

“Fremont kids don’t give up,” Sullivan said. “That’s the one thing I try to instill in them from day one.”

Sullivan’s lesson was put to the test Wednesday night in a City Championship quarterfinal playoff game against Taft. The young Pathfinders went scoreless for eight minutes in the second half but rallied from an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Toreadors, 67-63, and earn berth in the semifinals Saturday.

Junior guard Kenton Paulino and freshman forward Mark Bradford combined to make six consecutive free throws in the final 45 seconds for Fremont.

Paulino, who scored 44 points earlier this season against Crenshaw, finished with 20 points and Bradford added 19.

It was a lost opportunity for a Taft (20-3) team trying to make its first semifinal appearance in school history. The Toreadors overcame plenty of adversity to take a 52-44 lead with 6:20 to go.

Freshman standout Steve Smith of Taft didn’t play under orders from his parents because of a non-school issue. Then 6-foot-8 center Gregg Guenther, who towered over everyone by a minimum four inches, went scoreless in the first half and seemed surprisingly passive.

The Toreadors trailed, 38-29, at halftime and were soon down by 11 points.

But Guenther was jolted out of hibernation and senior Ronald Gray started scoring. Fremont (18-9) went cold. Over the next eight minutes, the Pathfinders were outscored, 19-0.

“I was surprised they even came back,” Paulino said. “We thought they rolled over.”

It was up to Fremont to come back, and leading the way were 6-1 Paulino and the 6-2 Bradford.

Playing with poise and unselfishness, the Pathfinders went on a 10-0 streak to take a 54-52 lead with 4:51 to play on Bradford’s three-point play. After Guenther tied the game with a basket, the Pathfinders began to pull away for a final time.

Fremont, with no seniors in its starting lineup and eight of its top 10 players returning next season, was supposed to be a year away from challenging for a City title. But the rise of Pauline and Bradford have the Pathfinders one victory away from playing for a City Championship.

Gray scored 21 points for Taft, Guenther added 13, James Smith had 12 and sophomore Collins Ezeuka contributed 12.

It was the final Taft game for Coach Mark Drucker, who is retiring after seven years to become athletic director. He will be replaced by assistant Derrick Taylor.

Taft played with three sophomores on the court at one point.

“We’ll bounce back,” said Ezeuka. “You have to lose to succeed.”

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HIGH SCHOOL BOYS’ BASKETBALL PLAYOFF SCORES

CITY SECTION

Quarterfinals

Championship

Fremont 67, Taft 63

Westchester 83, Cleveland 65

Invitational

North Hollywood 71, Hamilton 65

Granada Hills 83, L.A. Banning 70

Manual Arts 92, San Fernando 64