Washington takes charge late, leads Western to OT victory

Kentrell Washington is far from being the most experienced player on Western's boys basketball roster.

But on a team with no returning lettermen, the sophomore swingman is quickly emerging as a go-to player for the Warriors.

Washington scored 17 of his game-high 29 points after the third quarter Tuesday to lift Western to a 65-61 overtime win over Woodbridge (Calif.) in a Gold Bracket semifinal of the Las Vegas Prep Championship at Las Vegas High.

"He does a heck of a job for us," Western coach Chip Nelson said. "In situations where we need someone to score, we know that we can look to him to put the ball in."

That was the case Tuesday, when Washington shot 4-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final four seconds of overtime to give the Warriors the victory. Four of the foul shots were the result of two technical fouls called on Woodbridge.

"I had to make those free throws so we could go to the championship," said Washington, who also had six rebounds. "It's kind of hard, but I just focused."

Western (7-2) advanced to the Gold title game, where it will face Metairie Park (La.) at 1 p.m. today.

Washington's layup gave the Warriors a 55-53 lead in the final minute of regulation before Woodbridge's Ryan Garvin hit a jumper from the top of the key with less than 35 seconds left to force overtime.

Albert Miller added 13 points for Western, which reached the semifinals with a 66-63 win over Palos Verdes (Calif.) earlier Tuesday.

Nelson was pleased with how Western responded to its first overtime period of the season.

"It's significant because now we really understand what it's like to play in an overtime situation and really get that under our belts before we play our (league) season," he said.

Contact reporter Tristan Aird at taird@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203.