Boys’ basketball: Gahr pulls away for 2A title

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There’s finishing strong, then there’s what Cerritos Gahr pulled off in the final two and a half minutes of the Southern Section Division 2A championship game.

After seeing a seven-point lead whittled down to two late in the fourth quarter, the seventh-seeded Gladiators responded with a 14-0 run to beat back Lakewood Mayfair 63-48 for their first CIF title.

Senior guard Davon Potts scored eight of his 15 points in the fourth quarter for Gahr (24-7), which led 15-11 after the first quarter and 30-27 at halftime. Michael Alvarez had 12 points and Javonte Sales added 11 points and John Benson had 14 rebounds for the Gladiators.

Dion Wright had 12 points, Corey Foster had 11 and Myles Smith added 10 for the fifth-seeded Monsoons (25-6), who outscored Gahr 13-10 in the third quarter to tie the game 40-40. Gahr won the rebounding battle, 51-28, and made 27 of its 37 free throw attempts.

The total attendance for the day and night sessions (a total of six games) was 11,317.

-- Steve Galluzzo