Big Win Offsets Losses

About a month before Compton Dominguez High played its first basketball game this season, the Dons lost their coach.

Two games from the end of the season, the Dons lost their best player.

Despite the setbacks, Dominguez finished its unpredictable season in predictable fashion--by winning a state championship.

Dominguez defeated Mountain View St. Francis, 71-53, Friday night before 6,658 at Arco Arena to win its third consecutive Division II title.

“I’m so proud of these kids for fighting through all the adversity,” said Steve Singleton, Dominguez’s interim coach. “Every guy on this team is a good player and every one of them stepped up.”

Dominguez (31-4) is the first school to win three boys’ titles in a row. The Dons have won five championships, ranking second only to Crenshaw, which has won eight.

The Dons also improved their record in state finals to 5-1. The Dons’ only loss came against St. Francis in 1995.

Junior forward Bobby Jones scored 21 points and had eight rebounds for Dominguez, which played without injured 7-foot-1 center Tyson Chandler for the second consecutive game.

Junior forward Darius Sanders scored 14 points, senior guard Tony Bryant had 13 and senior guard Montell Williams added 10 for the Dons.

Dominguez, with Chandler on the bench in street clothes and a knee-high cast on his severely sprained right ankle, still outrebounded St. Francis, 42-22.

“It’s not like only one guy rebounds the basketball for them,” St. Francis Coach Steve Filios said. “Every single guy does.”

Dominguez, however, came out slowly. The Dons were behind, 19-14, at the end of the first quarter after giving up several baskets on back-door plays.

“We thought we had them a little scared,” St. Francis center David Chiotti said.

Dominguez showed no outward sign of concern.

“We knew we were going to win,” Jones said. “We know how we can play.”

The Dons began the second quarter with a 14-0 run to take a 28-19 lead. Jones and Bryant made three-point shots during the run that did not end until Chiotti made a free throw with 2:53 left in the quarter.

Troy Bienemann scored for St. Francis (22-10) from in close with two minutes left, but that was the only field goal the Lancers made in the quarter.

Dominguez took a 35-24 lead into the locker room and did not allow St. Francis to get any closer than 12 points the rest of the way.

Chandler, who was injured in the Dons’ state regional semifinal victory over Inglewood on March 8, cheered from the bench and exhorted his teammates to do well until the end.

“It’s tough to sit here and watch, but these guys have been cheering for me for four years and I’m happy to do the same,” Chandler said. “I had no doubts that we were going to win. If I did I would have ripped this [cast] off.”

Singleton said winning the title has provided him with a sense of relief. Singleton took over the program after Russell Otis was arrested in November and charged with molesting a 17-year-old Dominguez player. Otis, who has denied the allegations, was initially suspended and has since been fired. He is scheduled to stand trial March 28.

“It feels great now that it’s over,” Singleton said. “After everything we’ve gone through as a team, this is very, very satisfying.”