High school basketball: No. 14 St. John's blows past No. 1 Brennan 85-66 led by 17 points from Devin Toatley

In a highly-anticipated showdown Friday night at the National High School Hoops Festival, No. 14 St. John's (Washington, D.C.) knocked off No. 1 Brennan (San Antonio, Texas) 85-66 in a game that will have massive national rankings implications.

Four players scored in double figures for St. John's led by 17 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals from junior guard Devin Toatley. 

Four-star Pittsburgh signee Omari Witherspoon chipped in 13 points and five rebounds, junior guard Geremy Clark contributed 14 points, four rebounds and four assists, top 70 sophomore Jymin Veney had 13 points, six rebounds and five assists and Towson pledge Jon Barton finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Clark helped St. John's swing the momentum by scoring eight consecutive points midway through the second quarter. He connected on back-to-back 3-point attempts before knocking down on a floater to help propel the Cadets to a 38-27 halftime lead.

St. John's continued to stretch its advantage in the third quarter as a strong putback layup through traffic from reserve Tariq Boney just before the third quarter horn gave the Cadets a 63-46 headed into the final period.

The Cadets kept their foot on the gas down the stretch as they shot 8 of 12 from the field and connected on 5 of 7 free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter to outscore the Bears for the third consecutive quarter, 22-20.

St. John's outrebounded Brennan by 15, shot 13.2 percent higher from the field and outscored the Bears 34-18 in the paint along with 20-7 in points off turnovers.

Senior guard Camden Cowgill scored a game-high 24 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists in the loss while five-star Houston signee Kingston Flemings tallied 17 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Brennan (11-1) hopes to bounce back quickly as the top team from the Lone Star State returns to the court tomorrow to face host DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) in the second day of National High School Hoops Festival action. The Bears own an impressive early-season resume that includes victories over No. 8 Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.) and No. 20 Allen (Texas).

St. John's (4-0) looks to build on its massive early-season victory Sunday at the event against Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah). The Cadets have knocked off all four of their opponents by double digits and could be in line for a major jump in the MaxPreps Top 25 next week.