By Don Ketchum

For nearly four full quarters on Tuesday night (Jan. 24), the gym at Laveen Betty H. Fairfax High sounded like a library.

Shhhhh.

Then all of a sudden, it erupted with a roar.

Fairfax’s boys basketball team, which trailed by 12 at halftime and six with 49.2 seconds to go, staged a furious rally to defeat neighborhood rival Laveen Cesar Chavez 62-59.

Prescott Evans made the two key plays for Fairfax (20-3). He stole two passes as Chavez was attempting to inbound the ball and scored with 33 and 25 seconds left, respectively, to turn a 59-56 deficit to a 60-59 lead. LeJon Johnson wrapped things up with a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left.

It was the second win by Fairfax, last season’s Class 5A Division II champion, over Chavez in a little more than a week. Fairfax earned a 58-53 win in the MLK Classic on Jan. 16 at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.

“We had 3 ½ bad quarters. We couldn’t get any momentum until the last three minutes,’’ said Fairfax coach Don Dominguez. “Our kids never quit.’’

Dominguez called the heroics by Evans “perfect plays.’’

The loss by Chavez (19-4) ruined a brilliant effort by J.D. Reagan, who led all scorers with 26 points.

Fairfax big man Stacy Davis, double- and triple-teamed most of the night, broke through to score nine of his team-leading 17 points in the fourth quarter. And Marquez Jackson blocked a desperation shot from the corner just before the final buzzer to seal the victory.

The crowd went crazy and the Fairfax players swarmed all over each other.

“All season long, we have come together as a group,’’ Dominguez said. “I never doubt the kids.

“It’s a matter of preparing for what we need to do.’’

Jackson added 13 points and Evans 10 for Fairfax. Pablo Rivas scored 10 points for Chavez.