Westchester's 45-42 win over Capistrano Valley was not exactly an impressive display of skill and agility, but the Comets' hard-nosed persistence eventually made up for their lack of shooting ability.
Neither team could get a shot off. Tied at 18 going into the half, Westchester shot 26.1 percent and Capistrano Valley shot 22.7 percent.
The Cougars led going into the fourth quarter 31-28, but the Comets held on.
"We dug ourselves into a hole. We just needed to dig down deep and give it to them defensively and get ourselves back into the game," said Westchester's Keywhon Powns. The senior guard has offers from Cal State Northridge, Florida State, Loyola Marymount, Marquette and San Diego State.
Junior guard Matthew Grant is starting to make an impact. He scored on a fast break for the Comets with less than three minutes left to help Westchester pull ahead 42-38. There wasn't a defender within miles of him. He finished the night with seven points and two rebounds.
But with a minute left 1:06 left, the game remained tied again at 42. Westchester's Je'ron Primus hit one of his free throws to give the Comets the lead again with under a minute to go. Primus had a team-high 15 points. He was only 3 of 10 from inside the arc and 1 of 7 from beyond, but managed to hit 8 of 9 free throws.
With mere seconds left, Jio Romano hit his only two free throws of the game to bring it the final score of 45-42.
Overall, the Comets only shot 35 percent from the floor, but remain hopeful going into next week's rematch against Fairfax.
"I think we're back on track. We've had a couple quality wins since the Fairfax game. I think we will be ready for Fairfax this time around," added Powns who had eight points.
Fairfax won their previous meeting 53-26 and -- just minutes before on the same court -- bested Eisenhower 73-67. By the looks of things, the Lions will probably win their second match up as well. Though defending L.A. City Champ Taft High still seems to be the favorite for the title, Fairfax looks to be a better contender than Westchester if Saturday's results are any inclination.
