Crenshaw Is Upset by Taft, 92-91

With three-time All-City guard Steve Smith scoreless and high-scoring junior guard Jordan Farmar in foul trouble, Woodland Hills Taft fell behind by 16 points in the second quarter Wednesday night, then pulled off a spectacular comeback to upset fourth-seeded Crenshaw, 92-91, in a City Championship quarterfinal playoff game at Crenshaw.

Matt Cook, an unsung junior guard, scored 27 points for Taft (23-4), including a free throw with 14 seconds left to give the Toreadors a three-point cushion. James Reynolds, who finished with 25 points, scored with one second left for Crenshaw (20-7).

Smith, who went the first 13 minutes without a point, scored 25 points over the final 19 minutes. Most impressive for the West Valley League champion and fifth-seeded Toreadors was their ability to survive the final 5:15 without Farmar, who fouled out after scoring 22 points and giving Taft a seven-point lead. It was Taft’s 17th victory in 18 games and the Toreadors earned a spot in a Saturday semifinal game at L.A. Southwest College against Westchester, a 79-43 winner over South Gate.

“We’re a good team,” Taft Coach Derrick Taylor said. “No one believes it except us.”

Another critical contributor for Taft was junior forward Alex Drob, who scored six points in the fourth quarter and helped the Toreadors overcome a relentless trapping defense.

By winning, Taft keeps alive its hopes of becoming the first San Fernando Valley team since Granada Hills in 1964 to win the City Championship.

-- Eric Sondheimer

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In boys’ soccer:

Lawndale Leuzinger 3, L.A. Loyola 2 (OT) -- Kei Ansu Kamara headed a throw-in from teammate Anuar Gomez off of the goal post and into the net with a minute left in overtime to lift host Leuzinger to an upset over top-seeded Loyola in the second round of the Southern Section Division II boys’ soccer playoffs.

Alexander Tellez scored the game-tying goal on a similar play with 30 seconds left in regulation for unseeded Leuzinger (22-4-3), which overcame a two-goal deficit in the second half.

It was the second consecutive season that the Olympians knocked off a top-seeded team, having beaten Alta Loma, 1-0, in a Division I semifinal last year when they were co-champions with Quartz Hill.

Kamara scored the Olympians’ first goal on a header off of a pass from Jesus Ponce in the 56th minute.

“All of our goals were on headers, which is something we thought we could exploit,” said Kamara, who leads Leuzinger with 27 goals. “I told everyone to cross the ball to me and I would flick it to the open man.”

Paul Wendel scored Loyola’s first goal on a header in the sixth minute off of an assist from Alex Stern.

Ryan Moniz scored unassisted in the 52nd minute to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead.

Goalkeeper Tim Walter made 13 saves for Loyola, several from point-blank range in overtime.

“They’re a very explosive team with a lot of skilled players,” Loyola Coach Chris Walter said. “The game could’ve gone either way but I’m proud of the way our guys battled.”

The loss snapped a 14-game winning streak for Loyola (20-2-5), The Times’ No. 9-ranked team. The Cubs outscored their opposition, 45-10, during the streak.

-- Steve Galluzzo

South Gate 2, San Pedro 1 -- Romel Sanchez scored in the 13th and 55th minutes to help the Rams upset the top-seeded Pirates in a City Championship second-round game.

Chris Scotti opened the scoring in the fifth minute for San Pedro (22-2), which had to play a man down after a defender was red-carded for rough play in the sixth minute for rough play. Sanchez scored the game-winner off a rebound. Rene Chicas had 15 saves for South Gate (11-4-5).