Boys’ basketball: Westchester, Serra advance to Fairfax semifinals

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Westchester and Gardena Serra overcame first-half deficits to win their quarterfiinal games of the Fairfax tournament on Thursday.

Jordin Mayes scored 21 points in the Comets’ 72-57 victory over Lawndale Leuzinger. Delon Wright scored 20 points for Leuzinger, which had a loyal fan sitting on the bench in former standout Russell Westbrook, last year’s No. 4 selection in the NBA draft.
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Westchester will play Serra in Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. semifinal. Serra rallied for a 66-57 victory over Santa Ana Mater Dei, which didn’t have guards Gary Franklin Jr. or Tyler Lamb.

Mater Dei opened an early lead with accurate three-point shooting from Eli Stalzer, who finished with 17 points. But Serra’s size advantage began to wear down the Monarchs, with 6-foot-10 Kevin Johnson contributing 17 points. Keith Shamburger made two three-pointers in the second half for Serra.

Friday’s other quarterfinals feature Santa Monica playing Fairfax at 7 p.m. and Orange Lutheran playing Long Beach Poly at 8:30 p.m.

-- Eric Sondheimer