Lakey Handles Pressure With a 4-Point Play

For one unforgettable moment Monday night, Russell Lakey of Harvard-Westlake High looked like Michael Jordan--except he didn’t stick his tongue out.

With his team down by one point to Mission League favorite Chaminade and 12 seconds to play, Lakey made a three-point shot from the top of the key while getting fouled. He made the free throw to complete a four-point play and finished with 36 points in the Wolverines’ 76-73 victory.

“That was a phenomenal shot,” Coach Greg Hilliard of Harvard-Westlake said. “There was one guy rolling under his legs, another with a hand in his face and he knocked it down.”

Lakey was carried off the court by 280-pound football player Alex Holmes as delirious Harvard-Westlake students celebrated their first victory over Chaminade in three seasons.

The game featured an extraordinary individual duel between Lakey and 6-foot-9 center Scott Borchart of Chaminade.

Borchart scored 29 points, making 14 of 17 shots, and had 13 rebounds. Virtually every time he got the ball, he scored against the under-sized Wolverines (12-4, 3-0).

Harvard-Westlake opened a nine-point halftime lead behind Lakey, who scored 18 points in the second quarter. At one point, the Wolverines led by 13 points when Borchart went to the bench with three fouls and guard Jeff Hufford and Coach Jeff Young of Chaminade were assessed consecutive technical fouls.

But reserve guards Erik Johnson and Art D’Egidio got the Eagles (9-5, 1-1) back into the game with key baskets and strong defense on Lakey, who missed on 10 of his first 11 shots in the second half.

Chaminade took a 73-72 lead with 1:04 remaining on a basket by Ryan Arceo. D’Egidio made a steal, and the Eagles had a chance to extend their lead. But Tito Hill was called for an offensive foul with 26 seconds remaining, putting the ball in Lakey’s hands.

Lakey played all 32 minutes and made 13 consecutive free throws. He seemed to get a little tired, but in the end he knew what needed to be done.

“Coach told me to use my legs and my wrist and it took care of everything else,” he said.

Chaminade made only 11 of 24 free throws and allowed the Wolverines to run at will.

“It has to be a little bit wild and a little bit out of control,” Hilliard said. “We could never stop Borchart, so once he scored, we tried to keep it fast-paced.”

In other Mission League games:

Crespi 72, Alemany 71--Pat Casella’s free throw with one second remaining in overtime lifted the Celts (9-7, 1-2) at Crespi. Devin St. Albin scored 14 points and Andrew Moore added 12 for Crespi.

Byron Joseph scored 23 points and Reny Maynard had 22 for Alemany (6-10, 1-2).

Notre Dame 64, St. Francis 51--Cody Pearson scored 30 points to lead the host Knights (12-4, 2-1).