Warriors outlast Saints in Del Rey League showdown

• Tweet

• Tweet

LONG BEACH – A year ago at this time,  Jaden Erami and Kayleb Kearse were the best players on the Bosco Tech and Serra high school boys basketball teams.

Tuesday night, at St. Anthony High, they helped the St. Pius X/St. Matthias Academy program pull out a huge win against one of its biggest roadblocks to another Del Rey League championship.

Erami (a 6-foot-1 senior) nailed a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining to put the game into overtime, and then he and Kearse (a 5-9 junior) put the finishing touches on the Warriors’  88-85 decision against the host Saints.

Coach Donte Archie’s squad’s second league victory improved its overall record to 6-2, with the only losses coming to SoCal’s No. 1 (St. John Bosco) and 6 (Sierra Canyon) teams.

The Warriors (No. 11 in the updated BurlisonOnBasketball Top 25) step outside of league for a game at No. 18 Los Alamitos Friday night while the Saints (4-1 overall after their league opener) are back in action on Dec. 20 against No. 19 Crespi.

Archie’s team, after moving from the Camino Real League, was 10-0 in the Del Rey last season, earning slots in the CIF Southern Section and State Southern Regional Open competition and finishing 24-7.

There were heavy roster hits, though, as three-time, all-CIF SS choice Tyrone Riley (now starting for the University of San Francisco) and guard Tariq Bridges (now at Millikan) moved on.

But there was a big  – literally, at 6-8 and about 220 pounds – anchor returning in Douglas Langford (bound for Harvard University) and several other veterans.

And a bunch of gifted transfers came aboard – two of those who helped demonstrate Tuesday night why the Warriors are not only threats to repeat as league champions but to also land in the Southern Section’s top playoff group.

Erami helped lead Bosco Tech to a CIF SS title in ’22-23, and to Southern Section and regional finals last spring – losing in each to eventual state champion Alemany.

And Kearse was a two-season starter for the Cavaliers, leaving Serra for his new school before Serra Coach Bernard McCrumby moved to St. Bernard.

They were skilled and bold enough to help the Warriors rally from a six-point, fourth-quarter deficit, even after Langford (18 points and 12 rebounds) fouled out late in regulation.

Erami (pictured) scored 27 points – 10 in the fourth quarter and four free throws in the four-minute OT – while Kearse scored 16 of his 22 points in that same stretch, seven in OT.

Coach Alan Mitchell’s Saints finished second in league last season before a 25-8 finish that included a 48-42 CIF Southern Section 2AA title win over Rolling Hills Prep.

And, even in the gut-crunching loss Tuesday night, they showed they have the good to chase the Warriors in league and make another deep playoff run.

Veteran seniors Donovan Pitts (21 points), Austin Ellis (15), Aman Haynes (17) and Mikey Cortez (15) were each outstanding much of the way Tuesday.