SoCalHoops High School News

Crenshaw Player Killed;
Suspect Sought; Team Loses--(Nov. 29, 2001)

The Los Angeles Times reported this morning that Andre Morgan, a senior player for the Crenshaw Cougars, was killed Monday in a residential area of Inglewood.   The Times notes that according to police reports from the Inglewood PD and the LA County Coroner, Morgan was found face down on a sidewalk on East Arbor Vita Street, with multiple gunshot wounds.  He was taken to Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital in Inglewood where he was pronounced dead about 45 minuts later.

According to the paper, police are searching for a suspect, believed to be between the age of 28-32, wearing a black cap, black pants and a black jacket, who may have driven away from the scene in a dark-brown, four-door compact car resembling a Ford Tempo.

The Times also noted that Crenshaw officials declined to comment and that Coach Willie West could not be reached because the team left Tuesday for Fresno to begin play in the Buchanan-Clovis West Tournament (BCW), which features some of the best teams in the State, including Crenshaw, Clovis West, Long Beach Poly, and San Joaquin Memorial,  among others. 

In addition to the enormous personal loss for the Crenshaw players and coaches, the Cougars lost to Clovis 106-100 last night.  The Fresno Bee had a small blurb about the game, which made no mention of the shooting death. Here's an excerpt:

Clovis boys knock off powerful
Crenshaw
By Lisa Burnett
The Fresno Bee
(Published Thursday, November, 29, 2001)

A loss would have been acceptable. A win, unbelievable. Clovis High did the unbelievable, outslugging No. 1-seeded Crenshaw 106-100 in the first round of the BCW/Kiwanis Invitational Boys' Basketball Tournament at Clovis West on Wednesday.

"This is the biggest win in Clovis High history," second-year Clovis coach John Jones said. "I wanted to schedule tough to get my team ready [for the season]."

The Cougars found the touch from 3-point range early and never lost it, making 17 total. Scott Radcliffe led the long-range assault with eight 3-pointers, four in the third quarter. Radcliffe finished with a team-high 28 points.

"I knew we were underdogs, and that gave us confidence because we had nothing to lose," Radcliffe said. "Nobody expected us to win." Jones drew up his game plan, but his players executed. "I told my kids to penetrate and kick it," he said, "and we caught fire all night long."

The Cougars were outscored 32-26 in the first quarter but battled back in the second, tying it 49-49 at halftime.

Jason Lefore had 23 points for Clovis and six of the Cougars' 3-pointers. Mike Marcial and Paul Sargent added 17 each for Clovis.

Crenshaw's Marcus Williams had a game-high 32 points, and Terrence Jones had 27.

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