Fremont Finally Wins at Crenshaw

Twenty-five years of frustration ended Wednesday night for Fremont High Coach Sam Sullivan, whose team gave him his first victory at Crenshaw, 78-72, in an emotional City Championship quarterfinal game.

“I’m floating on a cloud right now,” said Sullivan, who had guided the Pathfinders (22-5) to three City championships but never a victory at Crenshaw. “They’re a tremendous program.”

Geoffrey Clayton had 20 points and Mark Bradford added 15 for Fremont, which fell behind by as many as 10 points in the second quarter. The game was intense for players and the standing-room-only crowd of more than 1,000. Officials had to briefly stop the game midway through the third quarter after a Fremont fan knocked a plastic chair onto the court.

Not long afterward, a yellow legal pad was hurled onto the court by an equally frustrated Crenshaw fan. Both sides were complaining loudly about the three-man officiating crew, but in the end, Fremont had 31 fouls and Crenshaw 30. Emotions boiled over five minutes after the game when a scuffle broke out between Fremont players and spectators. The Pathfinders were finally escorted out of the gym by security personnel.

Winning at Crenshaw has been difficult for any team, not just Fremont. Sixteen City championship banners hang on the walls, an intimidating sight. “When kids come in and look at the banners, they get psyched out,” Sullivan said.

Fremont, though, had a stabilizing force in Bradford, an All-City football player. He came through with several critical blocks and rebounds in the fourth quarter.

A three-point basket by Glen Bullard with 4:31 left gave Fremont the lead for good at 61-59.

Marcus Williams finished with 19 points for Crenshaw (20-8). Fremont will play Westchester on Saturday at L.A. Southwest College.

Eric Sondheimer

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Westchester 94, Carson 66--Brandon Heath had 22 points, including four three-point baskets, to lead the host Comets (26-2), the top-seeded team, to the victory. Hassan Adams added 21 points for Westchester.

Fairfax 96, Narbonne 66--Jahsha Bluntt had 19 points to lead host and No. 2-seeded Fairfax (28-3). Evan Burns had 15 points and 17 rebounds, and Kevin Bell had 16 points and 12 assists. Beto Delgado and Uzoma Mmeje each had 15 points for Narbonne (19-8).

Dorsey 85, Sylmar 75--Eric Flournoy had 24 points to lead the host Dons (19-5). Lewis Darby had 19 points for Sylmar (21-6).

In a girls’ quarterfinal game:

Fairfax 59, Westchester 48--Ashlee Dunlap scored eight of her game-high 25 points in the final three minutes to help the seventh-seeded Lions upset the second-seeded Comets at Westchester.

Westchester (18-9) trailed by 12 points midway through the third quarter, but rallied to cut its deficit to 47-45 with 4:47 to play.

Dunlap hit three field goals and two free throws to build a 55-45 lead with 2:09 left.

Fairfax (21-10), which lost twice to Westchester in Western League play and fell to the Comets in the semifinals last season, connected on 21 of 42 shots. Dunlap had 11 rebounds and Kristen Welch had 10 points and five assists for Fairfax. Roneisha Williams led Westchester with 16 points.

John Klima