Thomas Scores 33 as Dominguez Beats Crenshaw

In the first meeting between two of the Southland’s top high school boys’ basketball programs, Compton Dominguez outran Crenshaw, 101-90, in the featured game of the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Challenge Monday night at Pauley Pavilion.

Junior forward Jason Thomas finished with a game-high 33 points, including several dunks that brought standing ovations before a celebrity-filled crowd of 7,500.

“There’s been so much talk about this game, and I looked at it as a chance to show Crenshaw and others what we could do,� said Thomas, who led the school’s football team to a Southern Section title last month. “There’s still a lot of basketball left, but this was a big win.�

The Challenge, in its third year, featured eight games with area boys’ and girls’ teams.

Dominguez (13-4) entered the season as the top-ranked team in the state. It won the State Division II title last year and returned most of its lineup, including Thomas, senior point guard Kenny Brunner and junior center Tayshaun Prince. But the Dons struggled in holiday tournaments in Las Vegas and Long Beach, relegated to the consolation brackets.

Dominguez, however, took command for the start. Thomas scored 12 first-quarter points to give his team a 31-18 lead.

Crenshaw (11-3) utilizing a three guard attack led by senior Marcus Bradley, chipped away at the lead in the second quarter and trailed, 53-48, at halftime.

Brunner took command by scoring eight of his 23 points in the third quarter to keep the Dons ahead by margins of eight to 10 points most of the way.

Bradley led the Cougars with 24 points and Alastair Faux added 18.

High School Basketball Notes

Denzel Washington and Dustin Hoffman were among the celebrities in attendance. . . . Baron Davis, the highly-recruited point guard from Santa Monica Crossroads, is considering signing with UCLA in April. Davis committed to the Bruins, but decided not to sign early after Jim Harrick’s firing. The NCAA found no violations in the purchase of a used car by Davis’ sister from Harrick’s son shortly after Davis committed. In his first game at Pauley Pavilion, Davis had 18 points, eight assists and seven rebounds to lead his team to a 56-51 victory over Inglewood. He fouled out with 27 seconds remaining. . . . In other boys’ games, top-ranked Harvard-Westlake defeated Fairfax, 67-48; Long Beach Poly defeated Lancaster Antelope Valley, 75-62; Lakewood Artesia defeated Westchester, 68-57 and Torrance Bishop Montgomery upset Compton, 56-52. In girls’ games, Dominguez defeated Inglewood, 50-36, and top-ranked Brea-Olinda defeated Victor Valley, 64-40.