Indians shine in playoff defeat

Jim Riggio

Burroughs High has yet to win a CIF Southern Section team

championship in any sport in school history.

The 2002-2003 Indian boys’ basketball team certainly put together

one of the school’s greatest bids to earn a coveted CIF title.

But the dream ended Friday night, when Burroughs was outmatched in

talent and fell, 77-61 in the quarterfinals of the Division IIA

playoffs to host -- No. 2 seeded -- Lakewood Mayfair.

“Every team has its character,” Burroughs Coach Art Sullivan

said. “We’ve played excellent basketball the last two weeks. That’s a

lot of hard work that came to fruition.”

Burroughs (15-16) hung tough with Mayfair (21-7) early into the

third quarter, before the Monsoons -- who feature a host of future

Division I college players -- broke the game open.

Senior Dejan Prejean, who led Mayfair with 21 points, hit three

key jumpers to put away Burroughs.

“We shot the ball great in the first half, but they shot the ball

really well in the second half,” Sullivan said.

Burroughs’ senior Peter St. Hubert was proud of the effort his

team put forth in the playoffs.

“We were the underdog in every game and we knew we had to play

hard to win,” St. Hubert said. “This Burroughs team is going to be

real good next year.”

Mayfair Coach Dave Brieg praised Burroughs for giving his team a

tough battle.

“I knew they were a perimeter-oriented team,” Brieg said of

Burroughs, which hit 12 three-pointers. “What won the game for us was

we had only five turnovers.”

Mayfair’s point guard Brian McFadden, who played despite feeling

ill all day, was a key reason Mayfair didn’t turn the ball over.

Brieg said the four-year varsity player has turned down offers from

Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside.

Justin Hawkins, a 6-foot-7 forward who has signed with the

University of Utah, and 6-6 Chris Childress, the younger brother of

Stanford star Josh Childress, were the big reason why Burroughs

struggled on the boards.

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BOX SCORE

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Burroughs 15 17 16 13 -- 61

Mayfair 20 18 22 17 -- 77

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BURROUGHS

Paysinger 16, St. Hubert 14, Bernard 13, Inmaung 7, Jones 2, Adams 5,

Jackson 3, Radino 1. * Three-pointers: Paysinger 4, Bernard 3, St.

Hubert 2, Inmaung, Jackson, Adams

MAYFAIR

Prejean 21, Hawkins 13, 8 rebounds, Childress 11, McFadden 10, Wright

15, Christopher 5, Hampton 2. * Three-pointers: Prejean 3,

Christopher

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