Boykin’s 27 Lead Fairfax

With the pool of prospective Division I state champions growing by the week, Los Angeles Fairfax took the opportunity Saturday to show it still occupies the throne.

The Lions, behind 27 points from Duke-bound senior Jamal Boykin, defeated Lynwood, 60-55, in the featured game of the California Hoops Challenge at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Fairfax, the defending state champion, came into the game ranked No. 4 in the Southland by The Times but had not faced a challenging opponent since December. The seventh-ranked Knights were coming off an upset of No. 1 Compton Dominguez less than 24 hours earlier in a San Gabriel Valley League game.

Lynwood’s strong start to the season put it in the same category as Fairfax, Westchester and Etiwanda, teams that have the talent to win the Division I state final.

Reseda Cleveland, ranked No. 21, defeated No. 13 L.A. Loyola, 58-54, in an earlier game at Dominguez Hills and knocked off No. 8 Woodland Hills Taft, 63-50, in a West Valley League game Wednesday, victories that also put the Cavaliers in the state championship picture.

“There are so many teams that are even now,” Boykin said. “As soon as a team is ranked No. 1, they’re getting knocked off.”

Boykin, a 6-8 forward, had his work cut out for him against Lynwood. He was matched up against another 6-8 forward, Nevada Las Vegas-bound senior Davon Jefferson, who scored 23 points Friday against Dominguez, the defending Division II state champions.

Boykin scored 17 points in the first half and Jefferson had 14 as the Lions (13-2) took a 27-26 lead. Boykin made all four of his shots from the field in the third quarter to help Fairfax extend its lead to three. Seven players scored for the Lions in the final quarter, with Boykin getting his only points on two free throws with 15 seconds left.

Jefferson finished with 28 points for Lynwood (10-4), including nine in the fourth quarter. But the Knights couldn’t get any closer than three, continually hurting themselves from the free-throw line, where they made only 11 of 24 for the game.

Fairfax Coach Harvey Kitani said the game was a measuring stick for his team, which has one senior who plays extensively.

“Going away on trips early in the season, we learned a lot about ourselves,” Kitani said. “What kind of character and what kind of toughness you have to sustain to be on top.”