jason day fairfax v. westchester

SoCal High School & Prep Report

Jason Day: Game Report--Weschester
Beats Fairfax 85-71--(January 29, 1998)

He's back. Thank goodness. Jason Day, our trusted correspondent was at the Fairfax v. Westchester game last night, and he filed this report of the game. Jason was planning on going to the Crenshaw v. Washington game tomorrow, but won't be able to make that one due to other committments. Hopefully SoCalHoops will be able to cover the LA v. Westchester game tomorrow night, at LA High at 7:00 pm, and if you're in the area, don't miss it. Jason will also be covering all four of the Poly-Artesia Winter Classic games, including the Compton v. Dominguez game this Saturday at the Pyramid in Long Beach, and hopefully he'll have the reports to us shortly after the games. For now though, here's his report on Fairfax v. Westchester. And, as always, Jason can be reached via e-mail at elgee333@pacbell.net.

FAIRFAX PRIDE NOT ENOUGH AGAINST WESTCHESTER

COMETS ROLL 85-71

by Jason Day

I guess I can pretty much "cut to the chase" for this one between Westchester and Fairfax, played at Fairfax last night. Fairfax was down by 4 (16-12) at the end of the 1^st quarter and that was the last time the ending was in doubt.

Fairfax put on the kind of gutty performance you would expect from a Harvey Kitani coached team, and they certainly don’t want anyone making excuses for them. But, the fact remains that they have two starters sidelined with serious injuries. Senior Joe Shipp is limping around (without crutches at times) as he just got the cast off his broken foot the other day. Sophomore Tommie Johnson is limping around (still on crutches) waiting for the day when he can remove the cast from his recently broken foot. And while the remaining guns for the Lions can be dangerous, against a team as deep as Westchester the odds are against a win.

The Comets put 5 players in double figures, led by David Bluthenthal’s (6’7 Sr PF) 21 points and Albert Miller (6’3 Sr G) who had 20. Bluthenthal dominated from the beginning, racking up 17 of those in the first half. He took the opportunity to show his versatility by drifting out to the wing a couple of times and burying the 3. Or maybe run the floor and throw down a "thunder dunk" off the alley-oop. Or, just for good measure, take a defender off the dribble and finish with a twisting lay-in. Tough kid. David added 8 boards, 2 assists, and a steal.

Miller, in yet another (I’m beginning to tire of saying this) MVP performance, continued his quiet dominance of those who try to limit his numbers. Except for the stellar performance turned in by the Dominguez defense, opponents have simply been unable to stop this guy. Stop him from what is another problem because during the game you just don’t notice him that much. But after awhile there it is. 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals. He even hit a three in this one. I didn’t know he could shoot 3’s.

Brandon Granville (5'-10" Sr PG), hit for 11, including a 3, and wowed em with some really nice alley-oop passes to David or Tony Bland. He had 5 assists for the game.

For his part, Bland chose to entertain the crowd. He repeatedly tried the "no-look" or the "razzle dazzle" pass. When they went to teammates they were entertaining, when they went to Fairfax, which was at least 5 times, his coach was not amused. Tony had a great overall game though, and contributed 17 points, 5 steals, 6 assists, and a board.

Chris Osborne, taking advantage of mismatches all night long, finished with 10 points, 6 boards, and a steal. He got plenty of opportunity to show off his little turn around jumper, and hit it a couple of times over the Fairfax defenders.

Fairfax was losing this game from the beginning and was down by 20 (48-28) at half. But they played as if they were in a tie game for the whole game. Led by Jason Morrissette (6’-4" So. SF), who had 25 points, 8 rebounds, a block, and an assist, they never quit. Their scrambling defense, taking advantage of quickness against Westchester’s bigger players, got quite a few steals. Lion guard Stan Thorne (5'-8" Jr PG) had 12 points, 7 assists, 5 steals, 3 rebounds, while his backcourt mate, Flinder Boyd (6'-0" Sr PG/SG) had 6 points, 3 boards, 3 steals, 3 assists, and a block. Both Lion guards attacked the basket relentlessly, pushing the ball at Westchester every time they touched it. Thorne got to, or near, the basket so often, that he could have easily scored 30 if the shots he took there were falling. Unfortunately they weren’t and neither were Boyd’s. Flinder has got to be in the "mother" of all shooting slumps. His mechanics are deteriorating and frustration is beginning to show. I hope he can pull out of it, and Dartmouth does too.

One bright spot in all this pushing by Fairfax’s guards, was that Thorne was finding Greg Jefferson (6’5 Sr. F), who got involved in the game early and was a big part of the Lion’s gutty performance. Jefferson’s work around the basket, against the likes of Bluthenthal, Osborne, and Mackenzie Dent (6’6 Jr. F) was outstanding. Greg finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks, and an assist.

In the end, once again for Fairfax, the opponent was just too big, too strong, too deep. Westchester cruised to this victory and will be tested a bit more against L.A. High (at L.A.) on Friday. I can see Popeye [Deon Greene] and Leroy Watson, both of whom were in attendance last night, throwing up 3’s all night long in that one.

Fairfax, a team with nothing to hang their heads about after this defeat, visits Venice on Friday.

Before I go, I want to wish a happy belated birthday to Westchester’s Tony "Pretty T" Bland, who turned 18 on Tuesday. Congratulations!!!

See ya,

Jason Day