Westchester advanced to another City Section Division I championship final with a 62-58 semifinal win over Narbonne at L.A. Southwest College, but Comets coach Ed Azzam was in no celebratory mood.
Narbonne gave Westchester its toughest game in over a month with solid defense and physical play. Azzam gave the Gauchos all the credit, but he was not pleased with his team’s effort.
“Some of the kids did not come out focused, like they took this team lightly,” Azzam said, “I don’t know what they were thinking. We’re very fortunate to get through this game.”
The Comets (28-5) were also fortunate to have Elijah Stewart on their side, as the senior had 26 points, including eight of Westchester’s last 12 points. His three-point play with 34.8 seconds left gave the Comets a 58-53 lead.
“That was the biggest play of the game,” Narbonne coach Anthony Hilliard said, lamenting how his team did not box Stewart out.
Paulo Hugo hit a 3-pointer with 26.2 seconds left to bring Narbonne (23-9) within two points, but after Stewart made two free throws, Jamal Hicks’ driving layup was blocked by Myles Stewart.
It was a good test for the Comets, who face El Camino Real in next week’s final in a rematch of last year’s title game. It was also a reminder that nobody can be overlooked this late in the season.
“We were hearing they weren’t that good, but they came at our throats,” Elijah Stewart said. “They were real physical, fighting, pushing, scratching and doing what they had to do.”
Hilliard made a lineup change by starting Uchenna Nwosu to add some physicality to his lineup. With Nwosu and Owen Roberts playing big minutes, the Gauchos gave Westchester a fight, especially in the paint.
“Westchester won’t back down, so I had to put players on the court who won’t back down,” Hilliard said.
Reverend Maduakor led the Gauchos with 21 points, but missed free throws proved costly down the stretch. Although Narbonne was 21 of 27 from the line, three of the misses came in the fourth quarter.
“If we made our free throws, that would’ve won the game,” Maduakor said.
In contrast, Westchester made all 10 of its fourth-quarter free-throw attempts. The Comets overcame a sloppy start to the game, as they had four turnovers in the first three minutes.
Narbonne battled back from a 28-19 halftime deficit to cut Westchester’s lead to two, 31-29, on a layup by Jamal Hicks. But Westchester kept the Gauchos at bay on a free throw by Nick Hamilton and a three-point play by Stewart.
Westchester led 38-32 before Narbonne made another run, highlighted by a free throw from Roberts that delighted the crowd. The Gauchos cut the lead to two before a 3-pointer by Ellis Sallahudin made it a five-point game.
Sallahudin had 10 points off the bench and provided a calming presence at times when Westchester look flustered by Narbonne’s defense.
Myles Stewart added 14 points for the Comets.
Hicks had 16 points for Narbonne, who will play next in the Division I state regional tournament.
As for Westchester, Azzam was adamant that his team needed to rediscover the focus it had leading up to the game.
“We’ll try to get it back this week and be ready to play next Saturday,” Azzam said.
