Taylor Wins This Showdown in Overtime

Bryce Taylor and Arron Afflalo resembled two gunslingers staring into each other’s eyes, waiting for the other to blink.

It finally happened in the fourth quarter of Saturday morning’s heart-stopping Southern Section Division III-A boys’ basketball final at Arrowhead Pond.

Taylor, a 6-foot-5 junior guard at North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake, had missed seven consecutive shots and was only two-for-11 shooting when he connected on a three-point basket with 2:41 left to tie the score. He tallied 10 consecutive points in a two-minute span.

Afflalo, a 6-5 junior guard at Compton Centennial, refused to let Taylor go unchallenged. He made a driving layup with 1:08 left to tie the score while being hounded by three defenders. He made two free throws with five seconds left to give his team a one-point lead.

“I thought the game was in our hands,” Afflalo said.

But Afflalo fouled out with less than a second left when he tried to prevent Zachary Woolridge from scoring. Woolridge made one of two free throws to send the game into overtime. Without Afflalo, Centennial lost to Harvard-Westlake, 74-72, on Taylor’s basket with four seconds left in overtime.

Taylor finished with 24 points, Afflalo 25. Of the six championship games played at the Pond, none featured a better individual duel.

“Not to be cocky, but they were real fortunate I fouled out because there’s not too many times I’m going to let my team down if I have the chance to bring it home,” Afflalo said.

Taylor followed the lesson of all good shooters: Keep shooting even if you’re missing.

“My dad taught me when I was little, when you’re not shooting well, don’t get down,” Taylor said. “Down the stretch, I tried to take it upon myself to score.”

Averaging 28.4 points coming in, Taylor found himself a marked man because Centennial Coach Rod Palmer told his players, “Don’t lose No. 14. You give him one open look and he’ll make four in a row.”

Harvard-Westlake Coach Greg Hilliard didn’t seem too concerned that Taylor was missing shots.

“If Bryce was 0 for 11, I figured he’d make the next 11,” he said.

Afflalo fouled out because he picked up two fouls for having his hands on Taylor.

“He took advantage of the opportunity to step up and take his team to victory,” Afflalo said. “He can shoot the lights out.”

Afflalo earned plenty of respect in defeat. He came within seconds of leading Centennial to a championship with two freshmen, a sophomore and two juniors in the starting lineup.

“We tried a whole bunch of different things to stop him,” Hilliard said. “He seemed unstoppable. We were very happy he wasn’t around at the end to do his thing.”

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Trevor Ariza of Westchester was ill for three days before the City Championship boys’ basketball game Saturday afternoon at the Forum. Whatever made him ill, Fairfax players might want to catch it.

The 6-8 Ariza had more energy than plenty of healthy players, scoring 21 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in Westchester’s 66-56 victory over the Lions.

“I wanted to win,” Ariza said of his animated, energy-filled performance that helped the Comets take the City Championship for the fourth consecutive season.

Said Westchester Coach Ed Azzam: “We expect a lot from Trevor. In a big game like this, he’s supposed to come through, and he did. He dominated the glass when we needed it.”

Westchester’s man-to-man defense held Fairfax to 17 points late into the third quarter.

“I was disappointed,” Fairfax Coach Harvey Kitani said. “Offensively, we couldn’t put the ball in the basket.”

The one player who came through for Fairfax was 6-7 sophomore Jamal Boykin, who contributed 20 points and seven rebounds. Boykin had jitters early on.

“A lot of people were putting pressure on me,” he said. “In the second half, there was so much adrenaline built up in me.”

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Fans, commentators and coaches have been complaining for years about poor free-throw shooting in the boys’ ranks, but Santa Ana Mater Dei’s Wesley Washington set a high standard Saturday by making all 18 of his free throws in the Monarchs’ 78-59 Division II-A championship victory over Lakewood Mayfair.

Another player who distinguished himself in the playoffs was sophomore guard Dwain Williams of Temecula Chaparral, who made 40 of 40 free throws in three playoff games.

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Eric Sondheimer can be reached at

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com