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March 1, 2009
The LA City Section semifinals on Saturday afternoon pitted the top teams from the Western League of the city area against the top teams from the West Valley League in the San Fernando Valley. When it was over, one team from each league was still standing as defending section champion Taft and perennial powerhouse Westchester each won decisively and will meet in Friday's City championship, again at Galen Center. In this article we cover the Taft win over Fairfax; next we'll present the Westchester/Cleveland game report. Taft 67, Fairfax 45 Michael Williams had 23 points and Justin Hawkins had 20 as defending champion Taft advanced to the City Championship with a 67-45 win over Fairfax in the day's second semifinal. The Toreador defense held Fairfax to just 5 points in the fourth quarter, turning a decisive victory into a rout.Taft jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the game's first few minutes and never trailed. But Fairfax tied the game at 10, trailed by just a point at the end of the first quarter, and trailed by just 4 late in the third quarter before Taft finished the game on a 23-5 run, holding the Lions to just 11% shooting in the final quarter. Terran Carter scored the game's first point to give Taft a 1-0 lead, and both Williams and Hawkins scored to make it 5-0. Fairfax missed its first 5 shots from the floor before Renardo Sidney hit a jumper to make it 5-2. Taft never lost the lead, but Fairfax tied the game at 10 when Sidney, who had all 10 of the Lions' points to that point, scored after a pass from Lance Bailey with 1:45 left in the first quarter. Carter and Williams scored to give Taft a 14-10 lead, but then Solomon Hill drained a 3-pointer to bring Fairfax within a point at 14-13 at the end of the first quarter. Taft pushed its lead to 7 at 24-17 after Hawkins hit a 3-pointer with 4:25 left, but Fairfax got back within two points at 24-22 moments later. Then Taft scored the game's next 7 points to take a 31-22 lead before Hill again finished the quarter with a score for Fairfax, converting a driving lay-up to make it 31-24 at the break. When the third quarter began, Taft pushed its lead to 10 points at 34-24 on a 3-pointer by freshman Landon Drew. But Fairfax got three 3-pointers from Donte McFrazier to help cut into that deficit, and got back within 4 points at 44-40 after a 3-pointer by Sidney late in the quarter. But that would be Sidney's last basket, and Fairfax would score just 5 more points the rest of the game as Taft pulled away. Dominique Evans scored for Taft in the final minute to make it 46-40, and then Hawkins hit a long 2-point jumper at the buzzer to make it 48-40 after three periods. When the final quarter began, Taft pushed the lead to 11 on a 3-pointer by Williams 45 seconds into the period. After a free throw by Hill made it 51-41, Hawkins hit a 3-pointer to make it 54-41. Then Bailey scored for Fairfax to make it 54-43, but Evans converted a 3-point play after a pass from Williams to make it 57-43. A pair of free throws by Williams made it 59-43 with 5:36 left. Meanwhile, Fairfax stopped scoring. Bailey scored one more field goal later in the period, but he had the Lions' only baskets of the quarter. The Lions missed 16 of their 18 field goals for the quarter, and never made a run at Taft in the final period. A 3-pointer by Taft's Pierson Williams pushed the margin beyond 20 points and accounted for the final scoring of the game, making it 67-45 in the game's final minute. Click here for a complete Boxscore for both teams. For Taft, Michael Williams finished with 23 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Hawkins had a superb all-around game, going 8-for-12 from the floor for 20 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals while spending most of the time matched up against Hill, who finished with just 6 points on 2-of-10. Carter had just 6 points but also had 10 rebounds and did a masterful job defending Sidney. And for Fairfax, the numbers were pretty bleak. Sidney led the Lions with 13 points, but was 5-of-14 from the floor and the 6-10 center had just 3 rebounds. McFrazier had 9 points, all on 3-pointers in the third quarter. Hill had just 6 points though he did have 10 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. Overall, Fairfax shot just 29% from the floor, including 25% in the second half. Score by Quarters: Taft----- 14-17-17-19=67 Fairfax- 13-11-16-05=45 Updated Records: Taft (#3-seed) 25-3, Fairfax (#2-seed) 25-4 Fairfax was within 4 at 44-40 late in the 3rd quarter but shot just 11% (2/18) from the floor in the 4th quarter
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