DOWNEY \u2014 In a CIF Southern Section Division 3 second-round playoff clash between two of the area\u2019s best boys basketball teams, it turned out to be a simple numbers game Friday night.<\/p>\n
Warren had the more balanced effort, while Long Beach Wilson was unable to find a consistent second option for stretches, with guard Nehamiah Parris in foul trouble, to help complement a valiant effort from center Andre Alvarez-Smith.<\/p>\n
The Bears erased a nine-point, second-quarter deficit and their defense supplied key transition opportunities, and they collectively mustered enough firepower to hold off a late Bruins flurry for a 64-61 win.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always start off a little slow, which is tough in the playoffs \u2014 especially against a good team like Long Beach Wilson,\u201d Warren coach Zaiid Leflore said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew that (Alvarez-Smith) would be tough. Even if we were fronting him, the backside help had to be there. \u2026 So we had to pick our poison.\u201d<\/p>\n
Warren (23-6) will play Los Altos (22-7) in the quarterfinals Tuesday in Hacienda Heights at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n
The Bears trailed 24-15, as Smith-Alvarez repeatedly had his way in the paint and scored 14 of his game-high 24 points before halftime.<\/p>\n
Warren then went on a 10-0 run capped by guard Robert Chavez\u2019s go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:42 left in the half.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe tried to make those little adjustments,\u201d Leflore said. \u201cThey were playing a zone and we were shooting a lot of 3s.\u201d<\/p>\n
Defensively, the Bears limited the Bruins (19-12) to six points in the quarter on three Alvarez-Smith shots around the basket. Wilson missed 12 consecutive shots and turned it over three times during its roughest stretch.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey doubled (Alvarez-Smith) more,\u201d Bruins coach James Boykin said. \u201cWe got more stagnant on offense because Andre was rolling early.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhenever he\u2019s out there we\u2019re a different team. He battled through cramps and all kinds of stuff tonight, he touched it out to help this team try to win a playoff game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith-Alvarez ended the cold spell with 1:37 left to momentarily regain the advantage, but baskets from Donoven Knighten and Corrion Bonam gave Warren a 29-26 lead going into halftime.<\/p>\n
Wilson had 11 of its 19 turnovers in the first half<\/p>\n
Kenneth Martinez scored 13 of his team-high 19 points in the second half, Bonam finished with 15 and Chavez chipped in 14.<\/p>\n
\u201cEarly in the season we played some tough games, took some tough losses,\u201d Leflore said. \u201cI think all of those gave us that grit and that (collective) fight that we need.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parris had eight first-half points for Warren, but he picked up his third foul early in the third quarter before finishing with 17.<\/p>\n
Parris didn\u2019t score his first points of the second half until the 1:13 mark of the third.<\/p>\n
\u201cNehamiah had spurts,\u201d Boykin said. \u201cIt was just a gritty game.\u201d<\/p>\n
The teams traded the lead twice and were tied three times in the third quarter, but the Bears took a 44-42 advantage into the fourth.<\/p>\n
Warren guard Songhai Glover then pushed the advantage to five points with a 3-pointer seconds into the final quarter.<\/p>\n
After both teams went into a shooting funk, the Bears got steals from Glover and guard King Johnson that led to transition layups and a 53-44 lead with 3:20 to play.<\/p>\n
Still trailing 57-48, Smith-Alvarez\u2019s layup ignited a 6-0 burst to cut the deficit to three points with 30 seconds remaining.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew they were trying to go to him every play,\u201d Bonam said.<\/p>\n
Warren\u2019s troubles in-bounding the ball and a costly foul on a 3-point attempt contributed to five made free throws by Wilson\u2019s Matthew Searles, who got the Bruins as close as 60-58 with 11.8 seconds left.<\/p>\n
A pair of missed Warren free throws by Knighten with 11.1 seconds left briefly gave Wilson life. But the Bears were able to find enough composure and converted seven of 10 free throws over the final 26.2 seconds to hold on.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust talk to your brothers,\u201d Bonam said of the finish. \u201cJust make sure that they\u2019re calm and don\u2019t let them get in their head.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wilson was hurt in the comeback attempt by three missed, rushed 3-point attempts and allowing a key offensive rebound to Chavez after Knighten missed his consecutive free throws.<\/p>\n
Glover\u2019s steal after the final in-bounds pass with 3.4 seconds left set off the celebration.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was more of who wanted it more,\u201d Chavez said. \u201cWe came in here knowing they were going to fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boykin said he was proud of the effort in a game he considered more of a Division 2A playoff battle.<\/p>\n
He chalked some of the decisions and ill-advised looks down the stretch to youth.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo down to the final buzzer against a team that has an average margin of victory, like, 30 points, I\u2019m really, really proud of them,\u201d Boykin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were some (late) possessions they were definitely rushed. \u2026 It\u2019s pressure, these are kids\u2026so we just had to get them settled down.\u201d<\/p>\n
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