Playoff basketball is supposed to be intense, dramatic and a place where two teams leave it all on the floor. Such was the case between L.A. Jordan and Crenshaw in the first round of the City Section playoffs Thursday.

Crenshaw used a late fourth-quarter run to pull out the 79-76 victory in front of a capacity crowd at Crenshaw High School. It was a physical game defined by defense as both teams forced their share of turnovers.

Trailing 53-52 in the third quarter, the Cougars went on a 17-4 run to grab their first real advantage and held off a furious late charge by Jordan to escape with the win.

Deuce Zaid led the way with 18 points but it was the play of junior transfer Ernest Duvall that carried the team in final quarter. In his first game after missing the regular season due to academic ineligibility, Duvall scored 11 points – 10 in the fourth quarter despite playing with four fouls.

“He was the key tonight,” Crenshaw coach Ed Waters said, “He’s a hard guy to defend.”

Duvall came into the game knowing what he had to do based on what he observed when the teams met in December

“Bring energy and help out on the boards,” he said. Scoring a little bit didn’t hurt either.

James Boyd led Jordan with 23 points and 21 rebounds and Davian Wilson chipped in with 21 points for the Bulldogs, who missed two three-pointers in the final seconds.

 Stopping Boyd – one of the nation’s leading rebounders – was a priority coming in and although he performed close to his average (23.7 points and 22.8 rebounds), the team made him work for it.

“We threw five different guys at him,” Waters said of the game plan, “He got his numbers, but we were still able to eke it out.”

It’s the third consecutive victory for Crenshaw against Jordan since the Bulldogs defeated them in the first round of the 2005 playoffs. The rivalry – which goes back four decades to when the Cougars defeated Jordan to win the 1971 City Championship – brought out an intense crowd that traded barbs throughout the night.

As his team travels to face defending champion Taft on Tuesday, Waters said that he sees a lot of similarities between them and Jordan. A big body in the middle (Terran Carter), a great shooter (Michael Williams) as well as defensive stopper Justin Hawkins.

“We relish the chance to play them,” Waters said.

 

City Section Playoff Scores (1^st Round)

 Westchester 80, Carson 35

Fremont 61, Palisades 49

Sylmar 72, Birmingham 64

Taft 104, Gardena 39

Crenshaw 79, L.A. Jordan 76

Washington 87, Dorsey 74

Fairfax 92, West Adams 51

 

Southern Section Girls Results (1^st Round)

 

Division I-AA

Long Beach Poly 65, Paramount 15

Lynwood 63, Palmdale 42

Troy 57, Long Beach Jordan 29

Long Beach Wilson 67, Schurr 55

Cajon 67, Redondo 28

Long Beach Millikan 68, Quartz Hill 55

 

Division III-AA

Culver City 60, North Torrance 56

 

Division III-A

St. Mary’s Academy 83, Artesia 60

Division IV-AA

Compton Centennial 52, Morningside 36

Bishop Montgomery 75, Brentwood 45

 

Division V-AA

Gardena Serra 74, Alverno 11

 

City Section Girls Schedule (Tonight at 7 p.m.)

 

Locke at Chatsworth

Palisades at Dorsey

Granada Hills at Carson

Banning at Fairfax

Birmingham at Washington

Venice at El Camino Real

Crenshaw at Westchester

Narbonne at Taft

 

Southern Section Boys Schedule (Tonight at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise indicated)

 

Division I-AA

Long Beach Jordan at Rancho Verde

Los Alamitos at Lynwood

Dominguez at Hesperia

Pasadena at Long Beach Poly

Long Beach Wilson at Riverside King

 

Division II-AA

Redondo at Huntington Beach

Leuzinger at Canyon Springs

 

Division III-AA

Campbell Hall at St. John Bosco

 

Division III-A

Palm Desert at Gahr

 

Division IV-A

St. Francis at Bishop Montgomery

Inglewood at JSerra (San Juan Capistrano)

Lompoc at Compton Centennial

South El Monte at Serra (Gardena)

 

Division IV-A

Price at Fillmore

Lawndale at Chaminade (7 p.m.)

 

Division V-AA

St. Paul at Verbum Dei

Linfield Christian at Morningside

 

Division V-A

Windward at Yeshiva

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