Lakey Puts on Show at Expense of Crespi

If Coach Dick Dornan of Crespi High had his way, he’d buy Russell Lakey of Harvard-Westlake a one-way plane ticket to the East Coast.

“Lakey has been a nightmare for three years,” Dornan said. “I’m getting tired of him.”

In a Mission League opener Wednesday night, Lakey scored 30 points, contributed eight assists and left Crespi feeling helpless in Harvard-Westlake’s 72-66 victory.

“We tried everything against him,” said Crespi guard Andrew Moore, who had 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

The Celts tried five different players on the 6-foot Lakey, who was unstoppable at times. He would drive to the basket, draw a foul, pull up for a jump shot or pass the ball to an open teammate.

“He’s deceptive,” Moore said. “He’ll lull you to sleep, then go by you.”

In the first half, when he scored 24 points and made eight of 11 shots, Lakey was nothing short of sensational.

“Halftime stopped him,” Dornan said. “It wasn’t our defense.”

Lakey’s eyes lit up when he saw how the Celts were playing him.

“In the first half, they tried man-to-man and it really opened the floor for me,” he said.

Crespi (8-6) fell behind, 21-9, after one quarter, making just three of 16 shots. The Celts trailed, 44-35, at halftime.

Crespi put together the first of two second-half surges to start the third quarter, going on a 7-0 run. But just when the Celts started to double-team Lakey, 6-5 Eric Geffner stepped up for Harvard-Westlake (10-4). He scored 11 of his 19 points in the final two quarters.

Dornan finally raised the white flag with just over six minutes minutes left. He instructed his team to start playing a 2-3 zone defense. Much to his surprise, it worked. Lakey suddenly couldn’t penetrate and the Wolverines started missing shots.

Moore hit a three-pointer and Pat Casella scored on consecutive driving layups, cutting the Celts’ deficit to 65-62 with five minutes left. But Harvard-Westlake responded to the challenge. Bryan Coffey scored a basket and Craig Weinstein followed with a steal and layup. Crespi never got any closer and never led.

“It’s unfortunate we can’t defend the guy,” Dornan said. “These kids were fired up. They were prepared. [Lakey] came out on fire. You can’t play catch-up on Russell Lakey. No way.”

Lakey, a three-year starter who’s considering Columbia, Yale, Pennsylvania and Cornell as college choices, is averaging 21.2 points.

“I know if I get the ball, I can create things for myself and my teammates,” Lakey said.

Coach Greg Hilliard can’t believe his team has already won 10 games this season.

Almost every game has been a struggle. Four times, the Wolverines have pulled out three-point victories.

“We could be 0-14,” Hilliard said. “They’re winning games and I don’t know how. It’s a little luck, a little seniorness, a little playing together.”

Said Lakey: “We just believe we can win every game and play our hardest. We just go out there and shock people.”

NOTEBOOK: The Channel, Golden, Pacific View and Alpha leagues open play in girls’ basketball tonight. See how the teams in each league stack up.

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