Lynwood, St. Anthony pick up overtime victories in boys basketball battles for league supremacy

COMPTON >> Groundhog day came a couple days late, but still found its way to Dominguez High on Friday night as Lynwood came to town and mounted a fourth-quarter comeback and defeated the Dons by one point for the second time this season to capture the San Gabriel Valley League championship.

The final five minutes of the showdown between the rivals featured five lead changes and multiple ties, but it was a layup by sophomore Keith Carlton with less than five seconds remaining that sealed the 76-75 win for the Knights (18-4, 8-0) in overtime.

Before that, Lynwood junior Jamal Bogan coected on a layup after stealing an inbound pass with 15 seconds left in regulation, and made one of two free throws 10 ticks later to put his squad up 65-63. But a layup by Keshaun Bolen before the buzzer forced the extra time.

Sophomore Wayne Aold came up huge for the Dons (16-8, 5-3) all night, finishing with a game-high 37 points while converting from everywhere on the court, including a 3-pointer late in OT to put his team ahead once again. But the trio of Bogan (17 points), Carlton (15) and Jesse Ramirez (10) proved too much to overcome, especially in the late going.

Senior Joe Tate paced Lynwood for much of the first three quarters and ended up with a team-high 21 points on the night. Sean Harlston joined Aold in double-figures with 17 for the Dons.

“Dominguez came to play some ball today,” Lynwood head coach Gary Lenoir said. “Wayne Aold, he’s a player. I believe now, he made a big difference. I like the way my guys fight back at the end. We’ve been playing, to me, bad basketball. And we always find a way to pull the game out. That shows signs of a championship team. I’m excited, it was a great game.”

-Daniel Van Hoosier

ST. ANTHONY 102, LA SALLE 95 (OT) >> A career-high 39 points from senior guard Dante Williams helped the Saints (17-7, 7-1) hang on to beat La Salle in overtime.

The win keeps St. Anthony, ranked No. 6 in CIF Southe Section Division 4A, atop the Camino Real League standings and knocks the No. 7 Lancers (17-7, 6-2) down to second place.

“I knew the importance of this game coming in,” Williams said after he scored 11 points in the overtime period to clinch the victory.“This is the first chance to win league for a lot of these guys so we really want it.”

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St. Anthony freshman Marquise Nelloms scored 17 points, senior Kevonjae Jackson added 12 points and freshman Joshua Belvin chipped in 10.

Working hard and smart against the La Salle zone defense, St. Anthony used a series of kick-out passes to make seven 3-pointers in the first half and build a 44-28 halftime lead. The Saints led by as many as 14 points early in the fourth quarter, but Lancer senior Christian Oyie-Litttle and juniors Johy Knox and Sean Espinosa carried their team back into this game.

La Salle trailed by 10 most of the fourth quarter and erased a six-point deficit in the final minute of regulation.

Knox finished with a team-high 31 points and his 3-pointer at the buzzer capped the comeback and forced overtime.

Oyie-Little and Espinosa both finished with 23 points each. Williams took over the overtime period and his And-1 drive to the basket in the second minute of the extra period gave the Saints a lead they would not relinquish.

Oyie-Little was in foul trouble all night and fouled out on a controversial play under the bucket on the first possession of overtime.

St. Anthony will finish the regular season by hosting Salesian and traveling to Bellarmine-Jefferson next week.

-JJ Fiddler

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