BOYS' BASKETBALL: COACH'S PLANS ON HOLD WILLIE WEST'S CRENSHAW TEAM DEFEATS SYLMAR TO ADVANCE CRENSHAW 77, SYLMAR 64.Byline: SEAN n. 1. A seine. See Seine. CEGLINSKY Special to the Daily News It was supposed to be Willie West's final game. The end of the road, the swan song for the longtime long·time adj. Having existed or persisted for a long time: a longtime friend; a longtime resident of Detroit. longtime Adjective Crenshaw cren·shaw also cran·shaw n. A variety of winter melon (Cucumis melo var. inodorus) having a greenish-yellow rind and sweet, usually salmon-pink flesh. [Origin unknown.] High boys' basketball coach who planned on retiring after 39 years at the helm of the Cougars' program. As it turned out, West isn't going anywhere. Crenshaw played inspired over the final eight minutes of Thursday's City Section Championship playoff game Noun 1. playoff game - one game in the series of games constituting a playoff game - a single play of a sport or other contest; "the game lasted two hours" playoff - any final competition to determine a championship , and the Cougars postponed the legend's future plans by defeating host Sylmar 77-64 to advance to Tuesday's quarterfinals at top-seeded Fairfax of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . "Yeah, I guess every game is potentially my last one," said West, who has won eight Division I state titles, 16 City Section championships and 803 games overall to move into third place on the state's all-time list, past Emery emery: see corundum. emery Granular rock consisting of a mixture of the mineral corundum (aluminum oxide, Al2O3) and iron oxides such as magnetite (Fe3O4) or hematite (Fe2O3). of Emeryville's Abe Abrami. "The kids played with a lot of emotion tonight, and I'm not sure if it was for me and my situation, but I'll take a win anyway I can get one. Even though this is my last year, I'm still having fun." It appeared as if ninth-seeded Sylmar (16-10) had the eight-seeded Cougars (18-7) right where they wanted them after Crenshaw standout Darnell Gant went to the bench with his fourth foul with 6:45 left in the third quarter. However, the Spartans failed to put much distance between themselves and Crenshaw, leading 57-53 when Gant, a 6-foot-8 senior bound for Washington, finally returned with 6:07 left in the fourth quarter. Gant scored 10 points over the final 3:30 to spark a 18-4 run that turned a four-point Sylmar lead into a 71-61 advantage for Crenshaw with just more than a minute left. "The guys thought things were going to get easier once Gant went to the bench," Sylmar coach Bort Escoto said. "It actually worked against us. We stopped playing." Gant finished with 20 points and six rebounds. Teammate Mark Wilson Mark Wilson may refer to:
"It looked like they had us," Gant said. "I knew we had a run left in us. When my number was called I came in and did my job. I wasn't going to let this be coach's last game." Guy Landry provided a spark for Sylmar early, scoring eight of his 10 points in the first quarter. Victor Rudd took over in the second quarter and scored nine of his 18 as the Spartans took a 35-31 lead at the half. sean.ceglinsky@dailynews.com (818) 713-3607 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Crenshaw boys' basketball coach Willie West Willie Tennyson West (born May 1, 1938 in Lexington, Mississippi) was an American football defensive back. He played for nine seasons professionally: for the NFL St. Louis Cardinals; and for the American Football League's Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, New York Jets, and Miami will have to postpone retirement after his team defeated Sylmar. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News |
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