Corona Centennial Defeats Westchester in Overtime

Corona Centennial pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the high school basketball season Tuesday night at Loyola Marymount, defeating City Section champion Westchester, 89-86, in overtime in the first round of the Division I Southern California regional of the state tournament.

Second-seeded Westchester led, 65-55, in the fourth quarter, but Centennial--the Southern Section I-A runner-up--outscored the Comets, 18-8, down the stretch, forcing overtime.

Westchester committed 23 fouls in the second half and overtime, sending Centennial players to the free-throw line 35 times. Seventh-seeded Centennial made 25.

Jamaal Williams scored 30 points for Centennial (29-3) before fouling out midway through overtime.

David Sybesma added 18 points and Lance Soderberg had 14 for Centennial. Bryan Gonzalez made four free throws in overtime to finish with nine points.

Brandon Heath scored 23 points, Hassan Adams had 18 and Keith Everage added 15 for Westchester (28-2).

In other first-round games:

Santa Ana Mater Dei 75, Glendora 38--Mike Strawberry scored 14 of his game-high 18 points in the third quarter as the top-seeded Monarchs (30-2) pulled away from the Tartans (27-5) in the Division I victory at Ocean View High.

Clovis West 78, Fremont 70--Stanford-bound guard Chris Hernandez scored 24 points and Nick Debban added 21 to lead Clovis West (30-2) to the Division I victory at home.

Kenneth Eatmon scored 18 points for Fremont (20-7).

Upland 80, Encinitas Torrey Pines 67--Jason Harris scored 22 points and had 12 rebounds for Upland (32-1) in the Division I victory at Torrey Pines.

Inglewood 84, Hanford 79 (OT)--Ray Reed scored 25 points as the Sentinels (27-5) escaped with a Division II victory at Hanford.

Redondo Union 85, Fresno Edison 55--Adam Zahn scored 22 points and Dijon Thompson had 16 for Redondo (26-4) in the Division II game at home.