Westchester Isn’t Lacking Confidence

Brandon Heath joined fans and other interested observers at Los Angeles Southwest College last weekend and watched Fremont High advance to the City Section boys’ basketball championship game with a victory over Fairfax.

Heath had a special interest in the outcome.

The standout junior guard for defending champion Westchester wanted to know what he and his teammates would be up against in the City final today at 2 p.m. at the Forum.

Afterward, Heath did not bother to feign concern.

“They play hard and they’re pretty good,” Heath said of Fremont, which is in the City major division final for the first time since 1996. “But they don’t have enough to stay with us. I don’t think anybody does.”

Bishop O’Connell of North Carolina is the only team to defeat Westchester this season, and that was in overtime. Westchester (27-1) beat defending state Division III champion Torrance Bishop Montgomery and every other challenger in the Southland.

With a deep roster that triggers memories of some of Crenshaw’s great teams, Westchester, with its eyes clearly on a state Division I title, has rolled through the City playoffs, defeating Marshall, 110-40, Van Nuys Grant, 104-54 and Crenshaw, 114-93.

Heath scored 26 points in the semifinal victory over Crenshaw that was highlighted by the Comets’ 43-point first quarter.

“Westchester never lets up,” said Fairfax Coach Harvey Kitani, whose team lost twice to the Comets in Western League play. “Fremont has a couple players that can handle the ball, so that might help them handle Westchester’s pressure. But Westchester just has so many guys that can play.”

Fremont (20-6) defeated North Hollywood, 76-43, Gardena, 92-62, and Fairfax, 57-48, to reach the final. The Pathfinders, led by guard Kenton Paulino and front court players Mark Bradford and Earl Felix, routinely finish games with at least five players scoring in double figures.

“We’re going to need big games from a lot of different people,” Fremont Coach Sam Sullivan said. “This is the game we’ve been shooting for all season.”

Westchester is the favorite in the boys’ final, but the Comet girls’ team faces a daunting challenge in today’s 4 p.m. championship game against defending City and state Division I champion Harbor City Narbonne.

Westchester (24-7) features USC-bound center Kim Gipson, who scored 17 points in the semifinals against Fairfax.

However, Narbonne counters with Tennessee-bound guard Loree Moore, who can post a triple double seemingly any time she desires; junior guard Lisa Willis, a dead-eye shooter from three-point range, and a formidable front-court rotation that includes 6-footers Wilnett Crockett, Indi Johnson and Jamie Funn.