Fairfax Avenges Loss

Los Angeles Fairfax ended top-seeded Oceanside El Camino’s playoff run with a 62-61 victory over the Wildcats in a Southern California Regional Division I semifinal Thursday night at El Camino High.

Two months ago, El Camino enjoyed one of its greatest victories when it beat the Lions, then ranked No. 17 in the nation, in the finals of the Torrey Pines National Prep Classic.

But in the rematch, 6-foot-6 senior forward Alex Bausley and 6-7 sophomore Jamal Boykin combined for 30 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Lions (28-3).

Josh Shipp, a 6-5 junior, had eight points, including a basket off an offensive rebound with 1:52 to play that gave Fairfax its first lead in nearly nine minutes.

Tom Sheridan

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Inglewood 61, Bellflower St. John Bosco 58 -- Ray Reed scored 12 of his 23 points in the first quarter and the Sentinels held on after taking an 18-2 lead in a Division II semifinal at Cypress College.

Inglewood (24-9) advances to the regional final for the first time since 1994, when Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics led them to the Southern Section Division II-AA title.

St. John Bosco (27-7) defeated Inglewood, 62-59, on Saturday in the Division II-AA final but could not overcome a torrid start by the Sentinels.

Reed made five of his first six shots and the Sentinels held a 20-5 lead at the end of the first quarter. St. John Bosco pulled to within 47-44 early in the fourth quarter but could get no closer.

Eric Lane scored 16 points for the Braves, who made 10 of 27 free throws. Inglewood made nine of 14 free throws.

Mike Bresnahan

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North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake 74, Compton Centennial 62 -- Bryce Taylor’s fourth two-handed dunk of the game ignited a 9-0 run to start the fourth quarter for host Harvard-Westlake in a Division III semifinal.

Taylor, a 6-foot-5 junior forward, struggled with his outside shot in a rematch of the Southern Section Division III-A title contest won by Harvard-Westlake, 74-72, in overtime at the Arrowhead Pond on Saturday. But he scored six of his 34 points in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter to give the Wolverines (28-6) a 56-40 lead with 5:36 left.

“We got a better feel for their half-court game,” Taylor said when asked about the difference between Thursday’s game and the section final. “They run a good half-court offense, but we knew that if we could get out and run we’d be all right.”

Harvard-Westlake, which will play Lakewood Artesia, a 49-48 winner over La Jolla, on Saturday in the regional final at the Long Beach Arena, trailed, 20-16, early in the second quarter. But the Wolverines went on an 18-0 run to take a 34-20 lead with 1:45 left in the half.

Centennial (19-11) cut its deficit to 40-38 on a layup by Tyre Johnson with 2:12 remaining in the third quarter, but Harvard-Westlake went on a 7-2 run to end the quarter.

Evan Harris had nine points, 11 rebounds and 11 blocked shots for Harvard-Westlake, which will play in a regional final for the first time since 1997.

Junior guard Arron Afflalo scored 31 points for Centennial, but eight of his points came after Harvard-Westlake Coach Greg Hilliard cleared his bench with 1:15 remaining.

John Ortega

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Westchester 71, Rialto Eisenhower 57 -- Guards Bobby Brown and Jonathan Tolliver combined to score 18 points during a 23-0 Westchester scoring surge in the second half to propel the top-seeded Comets (29-4) to a Division I semifinal victory at Westchester.

Brown finished with 22 points and Tolliver had 14. Eisenhower (25-8), the Division I-AA champion, trailed, 38-35, with 5:22 left in the third quarter and didn’t score again until 6:34 remaining in the fourth quarter. By then, the Comets’ lead had grown to 26 points.

“They thought we couldn’t shoot,” Brown said. “They were daring us to shoot.”

Brown and Tolliver were supposed to be the weak link among Westchester’s starting five this season, but both have come through with consistent performances for the four-time defending City Section champions.

“Me and Bobby came out to prove [the skeptics] wrong,” Tolliver said.

Sean Marshall led Eisenhower with 15 points.

Trevor Ariza contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds for Westchester.

Former Comet standout Hassan Adams, a freshman at Arizona, was on hand to cheer for his former teammates.

-- Eric Sondheimer