Before Friday’s Trinity League game at Santa Margarita, St. Mary’s Christian Collins danced. John Bosco to the music and he looked so comfortable and relaxed that it was easy to foresee that he might do something special.
The 6-foot-9 senior made the tying basket at the buzzer to send the game into overtime and scored the game-clinching basket with six seconds left in the second overtime to lead St. John Bosco to a 74-73 victory in a game that lived up to the hype while also producing great performances from both teams.
“It was a really high-level game,” said coach St. John Bosco Matt Dunn. “They put us in positions that were really tough and we did the same thing. I had so many kids play great.”
The Braves (12-4) had four players score in double figures and rallied from an eight-point deficit in the third quarter. Collins finished with 20 points. Howie Wu, a 7-foot center for St. John Bosco, scored 15 points. Point guard Gavin Dean-Moss had 15 points and Tariq Iscandari added 13 points.
Santa Margarita (19-3) got 29 points from Kaiden Bailey and 20 points from Drew Anderson.
Collins saved St. John Bosco just before the buzzer at the end of regulation when he got an offensive rebound basket to tie the score. With six seconds left in the second overtime and St. John Bosco went up by two points, scored and secured the victory. Brayden Kyman’s 3-pointer at the buzzer meant nothing with a four-point deficit.
“It was really hard to get stops,” Dunn said. “We finally got some.
After tying the scores at 10, 12, 14, 17 and 19, Santa Margarita was able to take a 36-30 halftime lead. Anderson had 14 points then. The Eagles started connecting from three-point range, with four 3-pointers in the second quarter. St. John Bosco continued to rely on Collins, who had 10 points but missed six shots.
Santa Margarita’s Drew Anderson fights for a loose ball against St. John Bosco.
(Nick Goat)
In the third quarter, Bailey made two 3-pointers and Rodney Westmoreland another to give Santa Margarita an eight-point lead. But the Eagles’ success with three-pointers could be their downfall. They began to rely too much on trying to score from deep and St. John Bosco constantly defended.
“I was really proud of our guys,” Dunn said.
Santa Margarita, with four returning starters, was considered the Trinity League favorite. But the play of Wu and Dean-Moss helped take the offensive pressure off Collins, who was effective as a passer.
“Howie was great,” Dunn said.
This season, the Trinity League will be played in one round only, with a postseason tournament at Concordia University and Hope University.
After Friday night, the Braves are the team to beat.
Harvard-Westlake 78, Crespi 53: The Wolverines got 26 points from Joe Sterling and 19 from Pierce Thompson in the Mission League win.
St. Francis 58, Bishop of Alemany 45: Cherif Millogo had 30 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocks for the Golden Knights.
Chaminade 55, Loyola 48: Temi Olafisoye contributed 22 points and 20 rebounds to help the Eagles (19-2, 1-1) earn an important road victory.
La Habra 69, Crean Lutheran 56: The Highlanders (16-5) upset Crean Lutheran in Crestview League play.
Los Alamitos 80, Marina 60: Tyler Lopez had 21 points and Isaiah Williamson scored 16 in the win.
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