St. John Bosco looking for a bounceback
BELLFLOWER » St. John Bosco's basketball team, a winner of 41 of its last 42 home games, has another historic first to play for this season. That's because the Braves have never won a CIF State Open Division title.
No. 2 seed St. John Bosco (266) will host No. 3 seed HarvardWestlake (30-2) in the CIF State Open Division regional semifinals Saturday at 7 p.m. If the Braves win, they will face No. 4 seed St. Augustine or No. 1 seed Centennial in the regional final Tuesday at 7 p.m.
“For us to have a game of this magnitude on our campus is pretty special,” St. John Bosco coach Matt Dunn said. “In that way, I'm glad we're playing somebody really good because it forces us to refocus quicker. Obviously, we'll look back and be really proud of some of the things we've accomplished but it's hard to do that while you're right in the middle of it.”
Bosco is looking forward to bouncing back in the state playoffs after a disappointing 58-56 loss to Centennial in the CIF Southern Section Open Division final on Saturday.
“They're a very mature basketball group in regards to how they prepare and staying emotionally even,” Dunn said of his team.
Bosco will look for continued leadership from senior guards Delyle Williams and DJ Harrington and senior center Xinyi Li. It will also need steady offensive and defensive performances from sophomore point guard Elzie Harrington, sophomore forward Kade Bonam, freshman guard Brandon McCoy Jr. and junior guard Jack Turner, who fouled out with 3:32 to go in the game against Centennial.
“We are an aggressive team,” Dunn said. “We want our guys to be aggressive all the time, obviously defensively but offensively also. Jack's fourth foul was an offensive foul. It's part of our guys being aggressive. That's why all year long we've built depth. I play nine or 10 guys every game all year long so that when we get to the end if we are missing a guy for one reason or another, we have experienced players still out there.”
However, the Trinity League champions are also cherishing and utilizing their first-round bye in the state playoffs, which allowed them extra time to prepare for hosting Harvard-Westlake. The two teams are no strangers. Bosco defeated Harvard-Westlake 62-55 on Feb. 14, during CIF-SS pool play, which propelled the Braves to the program's first-ever appearance in the CIF-SS Open Division final.
The Braves overcame four players having three fouls in the first half against Harvard-Westlake to pull off a comeback win late in the fourth quarter.
“This group has obviously accomplished a lot of things that no one has ever accomplished in some cases, and no team of St. John Bosco has accomplished in other cases,” Dunn said.
Dunn likens the rematch against Harvard-Westlake to the second round of Trinity League play, knowing what to expect from your opponent but still wanting to add a few wrinkles to improve upon your first matchup, despite the fact that Bosco won the game.
So what does it take to beat one of the best high school basketball teams in California two times in less than three weeks?
“We did it four times in our league and we failed once so we've experienced both,” Dunn said. “I think in this game it's unique that they've been off for two weeks so I think their challenge is getting back into game speed as quickly as possible and our challenge is obviously overcoming a very difficult weekend.
“I think the team that adjusts quicker and gets back to making it just a basketball game is going to have a great advantage.”
“For us to have a game of this mag■itude o■ our campus is pretty special.”