Thompson Follows Up, Leads Way for Cleveland

It looked like a cross between “Beat the Clock” and “Hot Potato.” And Justin Thompson of Cleveland High was the only one playing.

Thompson converted a follow-up shot off his own missed layup with one second left to give Cleveland a 60-58 victory Wednesday over Granada Hills in a West Valley League opener.

“I knew I had to hurry and just throw it up,” said Thompson, a junior reserve forward who went running down the court with the celebrating Cavaliers in tow after his game-winning shot.

Thompson missed a layup in the waning seconds and was tangled up briefly with Midwin Francis of Granada Hills on the rebound. But after a couple of mutual tips, Thompson wrestled the ball away from Francis and put up the game-winner.

“I can’t question [Francis’] ability,” Coach Adam Levitt of Cleveland said. “I think [Thompson] just wanted it more than Midwin did.”

If Granada Hills had its druthers, Thompson never would have had the opportunity:

With the ball and 35 seconds left, the Highlanders were working for a last shot. But as Ryan Hicks was dribbling seconds off the clock well beyond the top of the lane while being guarded by Grant Pledger, he was called for a five-second violation with 12 seconds remaining.

“It killed us,” Coach Lou Cicciari of Granada Hills said.

The magnitude of the call wasn’t lost on Levitt.

“Huge, huge,” Levitt said. “I told [Pledger] that even if [Hicks] gets by him for a second driving to the basket, [Hicks] was coming right back. I knew they wanted to work the clock down.

“I went for a gamble. If [Hicks] went to the hoop and penetrated the lane, who’s to say what would have happened.”

Cleveland (10-6) led 25-11 with 4:00 left in the second quarter. But Granada Hills would not surrender.

The Highlanders (8-8) used a 13-4 run in the final three minutes of the first half to get to within 31-27.

“[Granada Hills has] some heart, but as long as we kept playing hard, we knew we’d win the game,” Thompson said.

The teams traded baskets and the Highlanders moved to within a point twice in the third quarter.

But David Franklin of Cleveland scored all seven of his points in a 63-second stretch early in the fourth quarter to extend the Cavaliers’ lead to 55-47.

Granada Hills stayed close and finally tied it, 58-58, on Rufus Parks’ two free throws with 2:24 remaining.

Cleveland, with a deep bench, maintained the upper hand and stayed fresh by shuttling players in and out of the game. Nine players scored for the Cavaliers, compared to the four for Granada Hills.

“They’re a very athletic, very aggressive team,” Cicciari said. “Just your typical Cleveland team.”

Cleveland, led by Quenton Harvey’s 13 points and Levell Palmer’s 10, looked anything but a team in disarray.

Levitt, a co-coach last year who resigned in November, was rehired to replace fired James Morris just before the holiday break. Until Wednesday, Cleveland played below it’s potential in a dismal 7-6 start.

“It’s pretty much our fault, our heads weren’t in it,” Thompson said. “But that’s all behind us now. It’s a new game, a new time.”

Parks scored 19 points, Jorge Price added 17 and Francis had 13 for Granada Hills.