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Boys’ basketball: Magic pulls it out

Los Angeles Times staff writer Ben Bolch
By Ben Bolch
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The Compton Magic looked as dead as downtown Las Vegas.

Trailing by 10 points early in the second half against the Atlanta Celtics and star forward Derrick Favors in an Adidas Super 64 tournament semifinal, the Magic cast some spell en route to a 96-87 victory.

There were big plays by Santa Barbara High guard Roberto Nelson, whose breakaway dunk gave the Magic a seven-point lead, and Corona Centennial guard Shannon Sharpe, who grabbed a key rebound after missing a free throw with just under a minute left.

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The Magic plays Grassroots Canada Elite in the championship at 6:20 p.m. at Rancho High.

--Ben Bolch

Varsity Times Insider
Ben Bolch

Ben Bolch has been a Los Angeles Times staff writer since 1999. He is serving his second stint as the UCLA beat writer, which seems fitting since he has covered almost every sports beat except hockey and horse racing. Bolch is also the author of the recently released book “100 Things UCLA Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.” He previously covered UCLA basketball from 2010-11 before going on to cover the NBA and the Clippers for five years. He happily traded in gobs of hotel points and airline miles to return to cover UCLA basketball and football in the summer of 2016. Bolch was once selected by NBA TV’s “The Starters” as the “Worst of the Week” after questioning their celebrity journalism-style questions at an NBA All-Star game and considers it one of his finer moments.

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