High School Basketball : Taft’s 1st Loss Result of Poor Foul Shooting

It seemed that of the 5 players to foul, University had chosen the wrong one. Taft point guard Dedan Thomas had made 7 consecutive free throws when he was fouled with 28 seconds left and Taft holding a 1-point overtime lead in a second-round game of the Hamilton tournament Thursday.

Yet Thomas, an All-American senior who will attend Nevada Las Vegas, missed the front end of the 1-and-1 opportunity and University’s Eric Clark made a 25-foot shot with 13 seconds remaining as Taft suffered its first loss, 67-65.

Thomas was forced to lead a 4-guard lineup after front-line starters Jason Deyoe and Gilbert Ruff fouled out midway through the fourth quarter. Once Taft took the lead in overtime, Thomas keyed a four-corner stall and finally was fouled out of desperation by University (6-0).

After Clark’s 3-point bomb, Thomas was given a reprieve when he was fouled on a drive to the basket with 5 seconds left. However, Thomas again missed the first attempt of a 1-and-1.

“I think he finally ran out of gas,” Taft Coach Jim Woodard said of Thomas, who had 17 points, 10 assists and 6 steals. “He was running the show all game long.”

Senior forward Tony Middleton (18 points and 12 rebounds) made 2 free throws with 5 seconds left in regulation to tie the score, 60-60.

Clark had a game-high 19 points for University, including 4 3-point baskets.

In another Hamilton tournament game:

Kennedy 62, Hamilton 54--The Golden Cougars advanced to the championship game today against University.

Junior guard Garret Anderson led Kennedy (4-2) with 20 points. Dana Dotson added 15.

Duane Lewis led Hamilton (3-3) with 15 points.

In other games:

Crescenta Valley 67, Burbank 41--The Bulldogs scored almost 3 times as many points as they did the first time these teams met this season, but it still wasn’t enough.

Crescenta Valley (7-1) pulled away on Raffie Eskandarian’s 13 second-quarter points that included 3 3-point shots. Eskandarian finished with a game-high 24 points.

Burbank shot 43% from the field but made 15 turnovers. Adam Tunison led the Bulldogs with 13 points.

Burbank (1-7) scored only 14 points and shot 9% against Crescenta Valley 2 weeks ago.