LONG BEACH, Ca. – Senior guard Jaayden Bush scored eight points of his game-high 22 points – and came up with a critical steal – to help the host St. Anthony High Saints toppled Bishop Montgomery, 52-47, Wednesday night in a Del Rey League clash on Darrick Martin Court in Jack Errion Memorial Gymnasium.
With the league’s schedule ripped asunder by COVID issues, the teams will have a “rematch” on Saturday at 6 o’clock on the Knights’ home court.
St. Anthony is scheduled to play at Cathedral in another Del Rey League clash Friday night.
The Saints (12-4 overall and 3-1 in league) trailed, 47-44, after Knights’ 6-foot-8 junior post Xavier Edmonds followed in his own miss with 2:11 to play.
But those were to me the final points Coach Doug Mitchell’s team (11-2 and 1-1, after only their second game since Dec. 22) were to score while missing two shots and committing three turnovers the rest of the way to aid the Saints’ comeback.
Center Elijah Price (11 points, nine rebounds, three assists and five blocked shots) sank two free throws – his first points since early in the second quarter – to get his team to go with 1:54 to play.
Twelve seconds later, after an Edmonds’ turnover, Bush was fouled in the open court and hit both ends of a 1 and 1 for his 19th and 20th points to put his team up by a point.
The visitors were hit with a five-second, closely guarded violation but Bush missed on a drive and, after clearing the rebound, the Knights called time out with 16.9 seconds to go.
Then, as the visitors attempted to inbound the ball at the sidelines in front of the scorers’ table, Bush picked off the pass and calmly laid the ball on the glass and through the net with his off (right) hand four seconds later.
Senior guard Jalen Vazquez had nailed three 3s for the Knights but another attempt from behind the arc was short and Price rebounded, was fouled by Edmonds, and converted a couple of insurance points, rendering the final 2.7 seconds to just a short delay for a Saints’ celebration.
Bush (pictured), who scored the game-deciding layup against Capistrano Valley Christian Saturday afternoon at Colony High in the State Preview Classic, hit a buzzer-beating, 40-footer to end the first half Wednesday night.
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