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SANTA ANA – The Mater Dei High boys’ basketball team did its part Friday night to set the stage for a Trinity League showdown with its St. John Bosco counterpart Saturday evening at the Crypto.com Arena.

The host Monarchs never trailed while improving its league and overall records to 2-0 and 16-1, respectively, with their 78-67 victory over visiting JSerra.

Coach Gary McKnight’s squad (No. 6 in the BurlisonOnBasketball Top 30 to the Lions’ No. 4) got 14 to 17 points from four players.

Junior  forward Brandon Benjamin leading the way while hitting six of nine from the field and all five free throws and grabbing six rebounds with five assists and two blocked shots.

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Twenty-four of the BurlisonOnBasketball SoCal Top 30 boys’ basketball teams will be in action Saturday during seven “showcase” events scattered throughout Southern California.

Two of those – No.’s 3 St. John Bosco and 6 Mater Dei – will be in a key league clash, playing their Trinity contest in the Crypto.com Arena (at 6 o’clock) as part of the five-game Catholic Coastal Classic.

The Braves (Servite) and Monarchs (No. 4 JSerra) will have play host to Trinity League games Friday night before their showdown less than 24 hours later.

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SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – The St. John Bosco High team used an overpowering third quarter Wednesday night at JSerra High to demonstrate why it’s got the goods to repeat as the Trinity League champion and challenge for a CIF Southern Section Open Division title.

The visiting and No. 3-ranked (via the BurlisonOnBasketball SoCal Top 30) Braves, after committing nine turnovers, trailed by three at intermission in the Trinity League opener with the No. 4 Lions.

But the Braves tighten the clamps, defensively, and dialed up their offensive execution in the third quarter, outscoring the hosts by 13 points without turning the ball over and pulling away for a 67-51 victory.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL – Harvard-Westlake, despite suffering its first loss to Miami Columbus Saturday night on a closing seconds rebound shot, maintains the top spot in the first 2024 version of the 2023-24 BurlisonOnBasketball Top 30 SoCal team ratings.

The 2023 State Open Division champion Wolverines, who open Mission League play Friday night at Alemany, also have the BurlisonOnBasketball top senior for the 2023 portion of the season in USC-bound guard Trent Perry.

The No.’s 2 and 3 teams in the Top 30, Eastvale Roosevelt and St.

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LA VERNE – Division Most Outstanding Player Brayden Burries led a collective outstanding performance by Eastvale Roosevelt Saturday night, helping the Mustangs build a 16-point advantage before hanging on for a 68-65 win over St. John Bosco in the Platinum championship game of the 7^th Classic at Damien.

The title game capped four days of  superb play in the 16-team division, with overtime games in Friday night’s semifinals and a third-place game earlier Saturday in which Northern California’s top-team, Richmond Salesian (62-59 over the host Spartans) didn’t secure its victory until Xavier Clinton missed on a 3-pointer from the left corner as the buzzer sounded.

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