Daylen Williams delivers winning basket for Fairfax in upset of Mater Dei
Whenever John Williams' name gets mentioned, the word "legendary" always comes first. He was considered one of the best basketball players in the history of the City Section when he played for Crenshaw High in the 1980s. He went on to LSU and the NBA.
Now his son, Daylen, a promising 6-foot-6 junior, is playing for Fairfax and just starting to get noticed after being injured the last two seasons.
Daylen came through Saturday night, rebounding a missed shot in the final seconds of the championship game of the Fairfax tournament and scoring on a layup to give the Lions a 74-73 victory over Santa Ana Mater Dei.
"I saw that the shot was a little right," Daylen said. "I was in the right place at the right time."
It was quite a moment for Fairfax, which played without point guard Jamal Hartwell. The Lions fell behind 13-2 and were hav ing trouble dealing with 7-foot-2 Bol Bol. But All-City guard Ethan Anderson, who finished with 31 points, rallied the Lions.
All the hard work might have been wasted with 27 seconds left. Fairfax had a 72-69 lead. Then disaster struck. Spencer Freedman of Mater Dei was fouled and Kirk Smith of Fairfax was called for a technical after pushing a Mater Dei player trying to get into the Fairfax huddle. Yes, the Mater Dei player fell to the ground a little too easily, but the damage was done.
Freedman made four consecutive free throws for a 73-72 lead.
Harrison Butler missed the front end of a one and one with 23 seconds left, giving the Lions one last chance. Anderson let loose a shot that didn't draw iron, and Williams took advantage for the winning basket.
"They have a lot of heart," Fairfax coach Steve Baik said of his players, ''but mentally, we have to be better."
Smith continues to be the key. He's 6-foot-7 with immense talent, but his passion someti mes gets him into trouble. He picked up two technical fouls. He had 12 points and battled Bol, who had 15 points.
"He's a guy where our season could be dependent on him," Baik said.
Controlling Smith's emotions will be a top priority for the Lions.
Freedman finished with 21 points for Mater Dei. Shawn Booker added 13 points for Fairfax.
Pasadena won the third-place game with a 66-55 win over Alemany. Bryce Hamilton scored 15 points. Crespi won the consolation championship over Rancho Christian. Taj Regans scored 18 points.
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