Boys’ basketball: Grant’s shooting leads Westchester

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Matthew Grant scored 24 points, including four three-pointers, and Westchester needed every one of them to hold off a furious Washington rally for a 65-62 victory in a City Section Division I quarterfinal game at Westchester.

Tajee Shaw scored 17 points for Washington and Ralph Harvey Jr. and Isaiah Hicks each added 14, but Harvey’s game-tying three-pointer bounced off the rim as time expired. Washington was trying to reach the semifinals for the third straight season.

Grant stole the ball and hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to put the third-seeded Comets (22-6) ahead 53-36 after three quarters. Je’Ron Primus had 16 points, Keywhon Powns had 11 and James Brown III added nine for Westchester, which defeated the Generals, 57-51, earlier this season and in the Division I semifinals last year at USC’s Galen Center.

Washington (21-11) outscored the Comets 26-12 in the fourth quarter and pulled within 65-62 on a pair of free throws by Hicks with 36 seconds left. Antawan Sims missed a three-pointer from the right corner with eight seconds left and Westchester guard Jio Romano was fouled intentionally with five seconds remaining. He missed both free throws, giving the sixth-seeded Generals one last chance to force overtime.

‘Coach has a lot of faith in me to take those shots when I’m open,’ said Grant, who had to leave the game for several minutes midway through the fourth quarter with cramps in both legs. ‘I was hurting pretty bad at the end, but it was nothing I couldn’t take. They sped the game up in the fourth quarter, played at their pace and we couldn’t put them away.’

Shortly after the game ended, Westchester players learned that seventh-seeded Dorsey upset No. 2 Fairfax, meaning that the Comets will play the Dons in the semifinals at 8 p.m. Saturday at Cal State Dominguez Hills. Top-seeded Woodland Hills Taft will play No. 5 Crenshaw in the earlier semifinal.

‘I was hoping to play Fairfax because they beat us twice in league and I played horrible the last time against them,’ Grant said. ‘But we can’t take Dorsey lightly. They play fast just like Washington.’

-- Steve Galluzzo