By John Klima
Staff Writer

Renardo Sidney picked a good time to play like the player he says he is, a top-shelf national talent capable of carrying a team at the high school level and ruining the ambitions of opponents.

Meanwhile, Westchester, after digging itself out of a self-made hole and bringing a seven-point lead into the final 2:30 of the fourth quarter, was burned by a hot player and lamented not getting in his face a little bit more often.

Sidneys jumper from the top of the key with two seconds to play handed Fairfax a 55-53 victory in the City Championship Friday at the Galen Center, capping a spree in which he scored 12 of his 32 points in the final two minutes.

Westchester (28-4) was already assured a berth in the state tournament by advancing to the semifinals, but is probably going to have to book a bus ride, and will continue to wonder how a team with this much talent remains too streaky, too many times.

Yeah, it would be, guard Oscar Bellfield said when, asked if Westchesters season would be a disappointment if the team made a quick exit from the state tournament.

Westchester has many what-ifs for a 28-win team. What if Westchester had bolted down Sidney in the final two minutes, even to a minor degree? What if Westchester hadnt started the game falling behind 11-0? What if Bellfield had scored more than three points and hit a 3-pointer in a game in which, with the exception of guard Jarred Dubois, Westchester was ineffective from 3-point range?

Live at the perimeter and die by it is the way this Westchester team is built, and it had no answer for Sidney, who had his share of Fairfaxs 11 total turnovers before playing like a guy who expects to go to the NBA surrounded by four other guys youll never hear about again.

I told my team, Get on my back, said Sidney, 6-10 junior center ranked as the No. 1 prospect at his position in the nation. I did what I had to do. You have to take over in times like that.

Westchester led 51-44 with 2:30 to play after Dwayne Polees slam-dunk.

Sidney took the ball up the point on the ensuing possession and, from the top of the key, hit his second of three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and his first of two in the final two minutes, to make it 51-47.

Sidney then hit another 3-pointer with 1:48 to play to cut Westchesters lead to 51-50.

He then scored with 53 seconds to play to give Fairfax (26-4) a 52-51 lead.

Bellfield missed a 3-pointer on Westchesters return possession, culminating an effort in which the streaky Comets connected on only 5-of-21 3-point attempts.

Sidney hit the first free throw of a 1-and-1 with 30 seconds to play, building a 53-51 lead.

Westchester rotated the ball through all five players and tied the score, 53-53, when Cordell Hadnot tipped the ball in with 15 seconds to play.

Fairfax inbounded, giving Sidney the last shot. Westchester had planned to double team, him but Sidney had a clear view to the basket and swished his decisive shot.

We did not defend very well, especially in the last ten seconds, Azzam said. We played terrible in the first quarter and played well beyond that. I would not say we are inconsistent, but we have yet to raise our level to our competition level and maintain it. When you dont do that against a good team and a good player, it makes things, obviously, difficult.

Sidney finished with 10 rebounds and three blocks. Fairfax out rebounded Westchester, 21-16.

Hes a great player and he can score from anywhere on the court, which makes him hard to defend, Hadnot said. We gave him too many outside shots late in the game. We defended him well for a lot of the time, but it could have been tighter at the end.

Had Westchester been able to hold Sidney off for another two minutes, it would have completed a comeback from a dismal first quarter. Westchester awakened in the second quarter thanks to Jarred Dubois, who connected on three of his five 3-point attempts to help Westchester narrow the halftime gap to 22-18.

Fairfax had wasted no time in making Westchester nervous, jumping out to an 11-0 run to start the first quarter. Fairfax managed to slow the tempo of the game down and out-rebound Westchester, both elements it used to defeat Westchester in the teams first Western League meeting of the season.

Westchester fell behind 17-5 in the first quarter and didnt get a field goal until Deshon McCoy scored with 1:04 to play in the quarter. Westchester was 0 for 4 from 3-point range, 1-for-10 from field-goal range and was out rebounded 9-5.

Dominique OConnor continued to emerge as Westchesters most effective penetrating guard, scoring 10 of his 17 points in Westchesters 22-point third quarter that built a 40-38 advantage.

Dubois scored 17 points and hit four of Westchesters five 3-pointers. The two factors that hurt Westchester the most in its first loss against Fairfaix  poor perimeter shooting and not enough rebounds  made Sidneys eventual output difficult to overcome.

We should have seen where (Sidney) was going and adjusted better, Bellfield said.

Westchester has lost five of its meetings to Fairfax, which will play Taft, a 77-51 winner over Fremont in the other semifinal. Westchester will wonder if it might get one more shot to slay the giant.

John.klima@dailybreeze.com

LA City Championship Semifinals
At Galen Center