Westchester doesn’t make up enough ground vs. King and loses, 77-75

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The Westchester boys’ basketball team recovered from its long field-goal drought in the first half, but couldn’t catch Riverside King down the stretch of the Southern California Regional Division I quarterfinal game, losing at home, 77-75.

The Comets sank a three-point basket in the closing seconds, but with no time outs remaining, all they could do was watch King hold the ball along the baseline without ever having to run an in-bounds play.

‘We didn’t make enough stops and we didn’t make enough shots,’ said Westchester Coach Ed Azzam. ‘That second quarter really hurt us.’

Azzam was referring to a three-minute stretch at the end of the first quarter and a five-minute stretch of the second, when the Comets were outscored, 21-1, to fall behind by 10 points. They trailed by 12 at the half and nine after three quarters.

‘Just huge execution and being able to stay focused against their pressure,’ King Coach Tim Sweeney cited as reasons for the victory.

Eric Wise scored 20 points for fifth-seeded King, which will travel to top-seeded Taft for a semifinal game Thursday night.

J.J. Campbell, who scored a career-high 29 points off the bench in the first-round victory over Fremont, had another big night, scoring 19 for the Wolves.

Dominique O’Connor scored 18 points for the Comets and Dwayne Polee had 14, but fouled out with 2:21 remaining and Westchester trailing by four points.

Taft better be ready Thursday night because King is feeling pretty good about itself about now.

--Dan Arritt