The personalities were out en force Monday night at a jammed Fairfax High gym for a showdown basketball game against Westchester.
There were the Shipp brothers, Josh and Jerren. There was retired L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky giving Fairfax Coach Harvey Kitani a pregame pep talk. And there was Flea, the Red Hot Chili Peppers co-founder who donned a gold Fairfax jersey and sat in a front-row seat cheering as if he were at a Lakers game.
“We’ll adopt him as Jack Nicholson,” Kitani said. “He’s better than Jack.”
Unbeaten Fairfax (20-0, 5-0) took advantage of a brief Westchester meltdown at the end of the second quarter and held on for a 54-49 victory to take over sole possession of first place in the Western League.
Lindsey Drew, the Arizona State commit, scored 13 points and had 10 rebounds and 10 assists while repeatedly finding ways to get his team a victory.
“He does big things,” Westchester Coach Ed Azzam said of the 6-foot-4 Drew, whose older brother, Larry, plays for the Philadelphia 76ers and whose father, Larry Sr., is an assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Said Kitani: “I love him to death. He made key baskets, made key rebounds.”
Donald Gipson and Isaiah Ajiboye added 13 points apiece and Lorne Currie had 11 points. Keith Fisher led Westchester (13-10, 5-1) with 19 points and played the second half with gauze in his nostrils after being injured as time expired to end the first half.
Westchester and Fairfax were tied, 22-22, late in the second quarter, when Fairfax went on a 13-2 run for an 11-point halftime lead. Currie contributed three baskets during the surge.
“We lost our minds for about a minute,” Azzam said. “Except for that minute, we played real well. We have to get over that hump.”
Flea, who was known as Michael Balzary during his Fairfax days, ran into Lindsey Drew at a Lakers game.
“He recognized me and we talked,” Drew said. “He’s a cool guy. I’m glad he’s supporting us.”
Fairfax, ranked No. 2 by The Times, is playing four games this week, including a matchup against No. 1-ranked Chatsworth Sierra Canyon on Saturday night at Fairfax.
The Lions will be certain to save a seat for Flea if he’s not on a concert tour.
Follow Eric Sondheimer on Twitter @LATSondheimer
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