LONG BEACH, Ca. – The St. Bernard and Bishop Montgomery squads get two pops at one other this weekend with a Del Rey League boys’ basketball championship – and playoff implications – at stake.
Wednesday night, in Jack Errion Gymnasium and on Darrick Martin Court on the St. Anthony campus, the visiting St. Bernard Vikings rallied from 12-point deficit at intermission to topple the Saints, 52-48.
And, in Torrance, the host Bishop Montgomery Knights, leading by just three points at the half, dominated the third quarter and knocked off Serra, 68-50.
The teams share 5-1 records, with the Vikings going to 16-4 and Bishop Montgomery 15-2 with the victories Wednesday night.
Bishop Montgomery plays host Friday night (at 7) with the teams hooking up in Playa del Rey two nights later (at 5) in the finale.
Left-handed senior guard Jaayden Bush – nothing short of sensational over the last month or so – hit three 3s and scored 14 second-quarter points, while the visitors were committing seven turnovers, as the Saints (13-7 and 4-4) broke out to a 30-18 advantage at intermission.
Junior guard Darius Carr, with 12 third-quarter points, helped the Vikings get to within 37-34 heading into the final quarter.
Bush scored nine points in the fourth quarter but his teammates were limited to just a bucket and the Vikings hit seven of eight free-throw attempts – five of those by junior guard Tyler Rolison and two by Long Beach State-bound Jason Hart Jr. — in the final minute to get out of Dodge with the W.
Carr led his team with 20 points while Hart (whose future head coach at LBSU, Dan Monson, was court-side) chipped in with 15.
Bush finished with 27 points but fellow senior Elijah Price – saddled with foul issues most of the contest before fouling out – was limited to seven.
The Vikings and Bishop Montgomery played on Dec 4 in the championship game of the Trevor Ariza Classic at Westchester High, with St. Bernard prevailing, 64-56.
Their Friday and Sunday games will not only determine the winner – or “co-winners” – of the Del Rey League but will also impact the makeup and seedings in the CIF Southern Section Open and Division I playoff brackets, as well.
Wednesday night’s loss dropped St. Anthony to 13-7 overall and 4-4 in league – with the four Del Rey losses coming by a combined margin of nine points.
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