Top-Seeded Crenshaw Boys Move By Palisades, 72-59

No fast breaks. No long run of points. No unimaginable comebacks.

Has Crenshaw High turned into team slowdown?

Not quite, although the top-seeded Cougars’ effort was decidedly workmanlike as they defeated Palisades, 72-59, in the City Section quarterfinals Wednesday night at Crenshaw.

Crenshaw (20-2) will face Fremont in the semifinals Saturday at an alternate site.

The 13-point victory, though, was atypical of Crenshaw basketball. It was gradual as the Cougars used their size advantage to keep Palisades (19-7) at bay after taking the lead in the second quarter.

It certainly wasn’t what Crenshaw Coach Willie West was expecting.

“I don’t know what happened out there,” West said. “This is a bad game for us. We missed a lot of shots. We got caught up in fouling them and putting them on the line.

“We could have played a lot better.”

Crenshaw stretched a one-point halftime lead to 12 in the third quarter as center Chris Davis had seven of his 19 points during the run. But Palisades closed to 52-48 in the fourth quarter on the strength of an 8-0 run.

Tommy Johnson’s third three-pointer restored the Cougars’ double-digit lead and Palisades wasn’t heard from again. Johnson finished with 22 points.

West was pleased with the effort from the 6-foot-7 Davis.

“This is what we’re trying to get him to do,” West said. “He has the capability to do that on the regular basis. Sometimes he thinks he’s a guard and he wants to go outside and shoot.”

Palisades Coach James Paleno liked the pace of the game but said missed free throws early continually had his team playing catch-up.

“We have kids who are normally really good free-throw shooters and for some reason they didn’t make them tonight,” Paleno said. “Obviously missed free throws sets up everything else for them.”