Westchester Escapes a Fairfax Upset

The basketball left Donavan White’s hand with about 10 seconds left in the Southern California Regional Division I boys’ basketball final, caromed off the front of the rim and was batted in the air about a half dozen times. Los Angeles Fairfax wasn’t about to let its final chance to beat Westchester this season fizzle away without a struggle.

The opportunity ended only when the final buzzer sounded, securing the 54-53 victory for Westchester, its ninth consecutive over its Western League rivals since 2003.

Fairfax players were left sprawled in the key in front of the 9,003 fans still inside the Sports Arena, having given it their all against the state’s top-ranked team.

The Lions had their chances, however, even before the final possession. They held a 50-45 lead with 4 minutes 35 seconds remaining but turned the ball over three times down the stretch and Westchester blocked their shots on two other possessions.

“Coach said we had to step it up, it’s our senior year,” said Amir Johnnson, a 6-foot-10 Louisville-bound center who finished with a team-high 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds. “We just started playing hard.”

Fairfax (26-6) had a chance to tie the score with 1:16 remaining but Jamal Boykin missed one of two free throws. The score remained the same when Fairfax began its final possession with 19.5 seconds remaining. Matt Shaw kicked the ball out to a wide open White, who set his feet beyond the three-point line but left his shot short. The ball was batted around the rim for about seven seconds before the game ended.

“It’s tough, one point, and missing a free throw, I’m going to be thinking about that for a long time,” said the Duke-bound Boykin. “There’s nothing I can do about it now. I’m moving on to great things.”

Fairfax began the game with a pressure defense that helped it jump to a 7-0 lead, but it also caused Boykin and Jerren Shipp to get into early foul trouble. Boykin picked up two fouls in the first 2 1/2 minutes and Shipp was called for his second a minute later.

The Comets (24-3) took their first lead on an offensive rebound and putback by Johnson early in the second quarter and maintained the one-point advantage at the half.

Westchester extended its lead to as many as seven in the third quarter, but the Lions scored the last five points to whittle it to one entering the fourth.

“[Fairfax] played great man defense,” Westchester Coach Ed Azzam said. “I was proud of [my team], they battled back and found a way.”

Boykin scored 19 points for Fairfax, Chace Stanback had 13 and Shipp 11.