The Riverside Press-Enterprise
St. John Bosco holds off Damien to advance to final
The St. John Bosco basketball team knew it would be in for a battle against Damien.
However, four rim-rattling dunks by sophomore guard Brandon Mccoy Jr. in the second half lifted the Braves to a 6359 win at home against the Spartans in the CIF Southern California Division I Regional semifinals Saturday night.
“I feel like when we have energy, nobody can really beat us,” Mccoy said.
The Braves (26-7) were led by Mccoy’s third straight double-double in the postseason, this time with a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore forward Dominic Perfetti had 14 points and senior guard Jack Turner (Loyola Chicago signee) added 10 points.
“You play all year long to hope to get to play in games like this,” said St. John Bosco coach Matt Dunn, who won a CIF State Division III championship at Damien in 2013. “I’m so glad our guys got to experience this.”
Bosco will play host to rival Mater Dei (29-5) in the Division I regional final Tuesday night.
Damien (28-6) was led by junior center
Nate Garcia, whose hook shot cut Bosco’s lead to 60-58 with 50.8 seconds to go.
Garcia finished with a team-high 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Damien senior guard Xavier Clinton, who missed a game-tying 3-pointer that rimmed out with seven seconds to go, had 12 points and five rebounds. Sophomore guard Eli Garner added 12 points.
“That’s the cruel thing about basketball,” Damien coach Mike Leduc said, “someone has to lose, especially in big games, but I still feel really proud of our guys and really proud of our season.”
Mccoy, a 6-foot-4 sophomore guard, won the opening tip against the 7-foot Garcia.
Turner was called for a technical foul midway through the first quarter. Clinton made both free throws to put Damien up 11-10. For the second straight game, Perfetti had seven points early and he put Bosco up 15-11 late in the first.
Then entered sophomore forward Howie Wu, Bosco’s 7-footer who was tasked with matching up with Garcia.
Damien closed the first quarter on a 5-0 run and trailed 16-15 heading into the second quarter.
Turner’s 3-pointer put Bosco up 18-16. Garcia’s dunk tied it 18. Turner’s steal was followed up by a one-handed, fast-break dunk that put the Braves up 25-22.
Garcia’s putback at the buzzer tied the game at 31 at halftime. Clinton had 10 points in the first half to lead all scorers.
Perfetti knocked down a corner 3-pointer to put Bosco up 34-31 early in the second half. Mccoy’s and-one gave the Braves a 3731 lead with 6:40 remaining in the third.
Damien junior guard Jacob Allen’s 3-pointer was part of a 7-0 run that cut Bosco’s lead to 39-38. Turner’s shake-andbake layup made it 41-38.