The Fairfax Lions won their first title in three years with a victory over King/Drew on Feb. 26. (photo courtesy of CIF Los Angeles)

The Fairfax High School boys basketball team defeated the King/Drew Golden Eagles 76-64 on Feb. 26 to win the City Section Open Division title, the team’s first championship under coach Reggie Morris Jr.

However, the team’s hopes of a state title run were derailed on March 1, when the Lions lost at home to JSerra Catholic High School, 70-68. Fairfax finished the year 16-7 with a 10-0 record in the Western League.

“We haven’t won this title in three years, so this is something that’s really wonderful for our school,” Fairfax athletic director Shane Cox said. “We’re extremely proud of our young people and extremely proud of our coach.”

He said the Lions begin each season with aspirations of making it to the Open Division championship.

“Those are the expectations they put on themselves,” Cox added.

Against King/Drew, Fairfax took a 37-20 lead into halftime and never let up, despite a 44-point second half by the Golden Eagles.

Cox said the title was Reggie Morris Jr.’s second, having won a state championship while coaching Redondo Union High School in 2013.

Two days later, the Lions faced JSerra Catholic, a 20-win team. Fairfax trailed early and went in to the third quarter with a 10-point deficit. The Lions battled back and took the lead in the fourth, but they couldn’t regain it again after trailing by two with 23.3 seconds remaining.

Although the loss ended their season, the Lions had an impressive year after starting 5-6. Beginning with a 57-56 victory against Palisades on Jan. 21, Fairfax won 11 straight games – including the Open Division championship – before falling to JSerra Catholic.

Cox said the team’s resilience is a testament to the coaching staff, and that there is plenty of reason for optimism for the Lions moving forward.

“A good portion of our players were underclassmen, so we’re going to return a lot of talent with this group,” he said. “We’re really excited about the future.”