Manual Arts Falls Victim to Washington’s Speed Trap

Manual Arts Coach Randolph Simpson and Washington co-Coach Dave Johnson had the same offensive scheme Friday night: run an up-tempo game and score off fast breaks.

The Toilers, however, were no match for Washington and its defensive strategy.

Washington exploited the Toilers, using a full court press to force 23 turnovers and run away with a 88-71 win in the first round of the City Section 4-A Division playoffs at Washington.

“The only way to play Manual Arts is to apply defensive pressure,” Washington co-Coach Andy Davis said. “Our full-court defense was at full speed tonight. They really turned it up.”

Washington outscored Manual Arts, 43-11, in fast-break points.

“They’re not a zone team,” Washington guard Daniel Moore said. “By them having a weak zone, we got a lot of easy baskets.”

After trailing 26-17 with 6:35 left in the second quarter, the Generals’ full-court press took over and their fast break started rolling. Patrick Blake’s dunk at 6:24 began a 10-0 run to give Washington a 28-27 lead.

With 1:09 left in the second, Jason Reed stripped the ball from Darwin Carter and lobbed an alley-oop pass to Charles Stone, whose dunk gave Washington the lead for good, 35-33.

“Dunks motivate the team,” Stone said. “The alley-oop really set things off for us and our defense stepped up.”

Washington also did a good job containing 6-foot-7 center Travis Reed, who finished with 21 points, scoring nine in the fourth quarter.

“We just fell apart,” Reed said. “They have a strong press with a lot of good athletes.”

Blake finished with a game-high 24 points and Stone added 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Carter, who finished with 22 points, left the contest with 3:36 remaining in the game due to a severe cramp in his right leg. He also complained of chest pains and was transported to Centinela Hospital in Inglewood after the game. He was awaiting treatment in the emergency room early Saturday morning.