It was not like Westinghouse needed to do anything differently. After all, the fourth-ranked Warriors had previously beaten No. 8 Young three times during the regular season.
But this is the Public League playoffs, so Westinghouse coach Chris Head decided Tuesday was time to show something new–a fierce full-court press. The tactic had the desired effect as the Warriors turned up the defensive pressure and received little resistance from Young in their second-round 76-63 victory at Westinghouse.
“We didn’t press before because we didn’t know how,” said Head, who earned his 100th victory at Westinghouse.
The Warriors (23-5) apparently learned, because they harassed Young (18-10) into eight first-quarter turnovers and 14 in the first half, which led to a 32-21 advantage at the break. Young never overcame its sloppy start, making only one serious run late in the third quarter when it cut the deficit to 44-41. An 8-3 Warriors run to begin the fourth quarter, spurred by back-to-back three-pointers by Jamaal Brown (13 points) and Darren Gafford (eight points), doused Young’s comeback aspirations.
Jamarcus Ellis led a balanced Westinghouse attack with 20 points, eight rebounds and five steals. Anthony Bennett and Darius Glover each had 12 points for Westinghouse, which forced 24 turnovers.
“I didn’t think the kids believed they could win the basketball game,” Young coach Lamont Bryant said. “[Westinghouse] just played smarter and harder basketball. The best team won today.”
Young senior Marcus White ended his high school career by finishing with 27 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks while being double- and triple-teamed. Anthony Harris added 14 points for the Dolphins, who lost both Red West meetings with Westinghouse and a third game in the Board of Education tournament.
Sean Duncan.
Crane 78, Collins 71
Tremel Gilot hit a three-pointer from the left wing with 61 seconds remaining to snap a tie and spark No. 6 Crane past host Collins.
“[Gilot has] been doing that all year,” Crane coach Anthony Longstreet said. “I feel bad because he’s actually good enough to be all-city, but he gets overlooked because of [Lorenzo] Thompson and [Florentino] Valencia.”
Crane (20-7) hit five three-pointers in the first quarter to race to a 24-16 lead but could never shake the Blue West champions. No. 12 Collins (22-2) finally tied the game at 69-69 when 6-foot-9-inch senior center Marlon Brumfield scored inside with 1:14 left.
After Gilot’s tie-breaking basket, Crane’s Jamale Tidwell blocked a runner in the lane by Collins guard John Scurlock with 47 seconds remaining. Carl Marshall iced the game for Crane by hitting 4-of-4 free throws in the final 31 seconds.
Brumfield scored 32 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had five crowd-pleasing dunks in his duel with the more-heralded Thompson.
The 6-8 Thompson responded with 30 points and 14 rebounds.
Gilot added 21 for Crane and hit three three-pointers. Valencia scored all of his nine points in the second half and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Bob Skolnik.
Farragut 93, Manley 58
The anticipated war lasted about eight minutes. That was how long No. 7 Farragut took to assert its dominance in a surprising rout of No. 13 Manley.
Manley led 14-13 with about a minute left in the first quarter in its cramped, suffocating gym. Farragut hardly blinked, outscoring Manley 32-12 during a nearly flawless second quarter.
“We’re peaking at the right time,” Farragut coach William Nelson said. “We’ve talked about just building and building on the way we’re playing.”
Farragut (19-9) used the devastating outside game of 6-1 guard Marcetteaus McGee and the powerful inside presence of 6-6 Elliott Poole to knock out the undersized Wildcats.
McGee (19 points) nailed four three-pointers during the second-quarter onslaught. Poole was 8-of-8 in the first half and scored 17 first-half points. Poole hit his first 11 shots from the floor on his way to a career-high 32 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.
When Farragut’s run ended, the Admirals had built a 49-25 halftime lead.
Marcus Jackson tried to keep the Wildcats (24-6) close, scoring a team-high 20 points.
Patrick Z. McGavin.
In other games:
Von Steuben 62, Lincoln Park 60 (5 OT): Luke Rogers tipped in his own miss with two seconds remaining in the fifth overtime to give the Panthers the victory over Lincoln Park.
In both the fourth and fifth overtime periods, Von Steuben won the tip and held the ball until the final 10 seconds. Rogers failed to convert in the fourth OT but ended it in the fifth.
Von Steuben (17-8) appeared to have won the game at the end of the second overtime when Ryne Hamblet’s bucket with five seconds to play gave the Panthers a 55-53 lead. The referees, however, waved off the basket, saying that the clock had been stopped in error and that time had actually expired.
Hamblet and Rogers finished with 20 points and 18 points, respectively, for Von Steuben.
Sherman Henderson had 18 points for Lincoln Park (13-13) and made the game-tying basket with 54 seconds to play in the third overtime to make it 60-60.
Curie 60, Marshall 53: The No. 5 Condors (23-4) advance to play Kenwood in the third round.
Carver 64, Washington 51: Cornelius Bardney scored 26 points to pace the Challengers (13-12).
Hubbard 89, Harper 68: Reginald Bates had 18 points as the Greyhounds (17-12) rolled.
Mather 64, Steinmetz 55: The Rangers (16-13) won behind Mike Shamon’s 14 points.
Morgan Park 80, Fenger 75: Marcus Arnold’s 29 points and Duran Taylor’s 23 led the Mustangs (16-11).
