Westchester In A Rout Over McClymonds, 49-31
March 22, 2009
Gerry Freitas
There is no doubt who the champs are… The Westchester Comets of Los Angeles routed the McClymonds Warriors of Oakland 49-31 on Saturday evening at Arco Arena in Sacramento for the Division I state championship.
It was never close and it was never in doubt. McClymonds never lead in the game and really struggled offensively. They were a miserable 10 of 49 (20%) from the field for the game.
Westchester coach Ed Azzam felt his defense was a big reason the Warriors shot the ball so poorly. “Our defense was the difference in the game,” said Azzam. “We didn’t allow them to use their strengths.”
The Comets began the game in an aggressive man to man defense. They jumped out to a 10-4 lead at the end of the first quarter. They would never look back.
Midway through the second quarter Westchester went to a 2-3 zone defense. Azzam’s plan was to try the zone and only stay with it if it was working. It was…
McClymonds couldn’t buy a basket in the first half. They were an incredible 3 of 28 shooting. That is TEN percent.
The Comets took a 24-11 lead into the locker room at the half.
While not shooting particularly well from the perimeter themselves, Westchester was able to get some fast break opportunities lead by their point guard, Los Angeles city player of the year Domonique O’Connor.
Azzam was quick to give credit to O’Connor. “Domo controlled the game on offense,” said the winning coach. “He’s been the on the court leader the whole year.”
McClymonds showed some signs of life in the third quarter. They went on a 7-2 run to start the period to make it 26-19 Westchester. But the Comets bounced back with a 10-2 run of their own, finishing with a three-pointer at the buzzer by junior wing Kareem Jamar to close out the quarter with a 36-21 lead.
In the final quarter the Comets spread the court and were able to get penetration to the basket regularly. They stretched the lead to 47-27 with 4:30 to go and were able to cruise to victory.
McClymonds first-year coach Brandon Brooks acknowledged Westchester’s superiority. “They wanted it more,” said Brooks. “They out-hustled us. They were just the better team tonight.” Yes they were.
McClymonds finishes the season at 29-2. After going 32-0 to win the state title last season, the Warriors have a two-year ledger that reads 61-2.
Brooks spoke of how proud he was of his team and what they accomplished. “We had a great year,’ said Brooks. He went on to say “we’ll be back.”
O’Connor said “it feels like a dream” in winning the whole thing. He also added “This is the best senior year ever.”
Westchester finishes the season with a record of 35-2 and Azzam wins his fifth state crown in five tries. He didn’t feel his team could win a state championship at the beginning of the season. But he said his team got better as the year went on and made him believe they could get it done.
He also added that “it takes a little bit of luck to win a state championship,” and that “we got a little lucky.” Coach, there was NO luck involved in this one. You were indeed, the best team…
Scoring Totals:
Westchester (35-2): Domonique O’Connor 16, Dwayne Polee 9, Jordin Mayes 8, Deshun McCoy 8, Kareem Jamar 6, Reggie Murphy 2
McClymonds (29-2): Damon Powell 10, Will Cherry 9, Chris Jackson 6, Justin Standley 2, Quincy Hill 2, Barry Bell 2