St. John Bosco outlasts Loyola at Fairfax State Preview Classic

LOS ANGELES — In a showdown between two of the top 10 teams in California and former top 25 national squads, the speed and athleticism of St. John Bosco (Bellflower) was on display throughout Saturday night's 67-64 victory over Loyola (Los Angeles) in the final game of the Fairfax State Preview Classic at Fairfax High.

The crowd erupted when Daniel Hamilton lobbed an alley-oop pass to his brother Isaac Hamilton for a slam dunk that gave St. John Bosco a seemingly safe 57-45 lead with four minutes left. The Cubs clawed to within 61-59 on Mtume Armour's three-point play with 32 seconds left, but that was as close as they got.

"We practice that play a lot," said Isaac Hamilton, a senior who has signed with UTEP. "We just penetrate, I go back door and he finds me. We always know where each other are."

Darien Williams' layup with 10 seconds left and a pair of free throws by Isaac Hamilton gave the Braves (17-4) a six-point lead before Loyola's Max Hazzard swished a three-pointer with 0.3 seconds left to provide the final margin.

Sophomore Tyler Dorsey scored 15 of his 23 points in the second half to lead St. John Bosco, which entered the contest ranked No. 1 in Southern Section Division 3A and seventh in the state. Senior guard Trey Mason countered with six three-pointers on his way to 28 points for Loyola, ranked fifth in Southern Section Division 1AA and sixth in the state.

Loyola opened on a 6-1 run and back-to-back three-pointers by Mason gave the Cubs a 17-10 lead late in the first quarter. However, three straight fast-break baskets by Isaac Hamilton pulled St. John Bosco to within one point, then Dorsey's layup gave the Braves their first lead, 20-19, with 3:19 left in the first half.

"This was a good test," Isaac Hamilton said. "We've played tough teams all year and that should help us in the playoffs."

Loyola (16-5) lost one of its best players just seven seconds into the second quarter when junior guard Khalil Bedart-Ghani injured his right ankle on a hard fall and had to be helped to the Cubs' bench. He did not return.

Daniel Hamilton, a junior, had 15 points and Isaac Hamilton added 14 for St. John Bosco.

In other Fairfax State Preview Classic games:

Bishop Montgomery (Torrance) 79, Lincoln (San Diego) 34

Pepperdine signee Lamond Murray Jr. scored points 15 points, Ognjen Miljkovic had 13 and sophomore Stephen Thompson Jr. added 12 as the Knights (23-0) showed why they are ranked second in the state and 10th in the nation by racing to a 57-4 halftime lead en route to their ninth intersectional victory.

Marquel Jones scored nine of his 10 points in the third quarter for the Hornets (8-11), the fourth-ranked team in San Diego Division II.

El Camino Real (Woodland Hills, Calif.) 65, Orange Lutheran (Orange) 57

Hawaii commit Michael Thomas scored 17 points, including the first six of the game, for the Conquistadores, the top-ranked team in the City Section and No. 11 in the state.

Julian Richardson also scored 17 for El Camino Real (21-2), which has won 15 in a row since a three-point loss to Brentwood (Los Angeles) on December 8.

Brian Beard had 13 points but Penn State-bound Payton Banks was held to four for the defending Southern Section Division 1A champion Lancers (16-6), ranked seventh in Division 1AA and 19th in the state. Lutheran trailed 29-21 at halftime and 51-36 after three quarters.

Compton 57, Santa Monica 54

Junior guard Kyron Cartwright scored 20 points, including two game-clinching free throws with 0.4 seconds left, and Isaiah Bailey added 14 points for the Tarbabes (15-7), ranked fourth in Southern Section Division 3AAA.

Cal commit Jordan Mathews had 22 for the Vikings, including a driving layup that trimmed Compton's lead to 55-54 with 8.1 seconds remaining. Santa Monica (16-5) scored 11 unanswered points to tie it 37-37 at the start of the second half.

The Vikings, ranked No. 2 in Southern Section Division 1A and No. 30 in the state, took a 40-39 lead on a corner three-pointer by Mathews midway through the third quarter, but Compton answered with a 7-0 run.

Windward (Los Angeles) 86, Alemany (Mission Hills) 72

Jordan Wilson scored 33 points, Charles Dawson added 18 for the Wildcats (14-8), who won the Division V state title in 2009 and the Division IV state title in 2011.

Wilson, a point guard committed to Northern Colorado, made six of his seven three-pointers in the first two quarters, including a buzzer-beater that banked in from midcourt to give the Wildcats a 49-24 halftime lead.
Windward is ranked No. 8 in Southern Section Division 4AA.

KJ Moffett had 21 points and Bear Henderson and Brandon Boyd each added 18 for the defending Division III state champion Warriors (14-9), ranked No. 12 in Southern Section Division 1-AA.

Serra (Gardena) 70, Harvard-Westlake (Studio City) 55

Tavrion Dawson had 18 points and Ajon Jefferson added 17 as the Cavaliers won for the 11th time in 12 games and defeated the team right behind them in the Southern Section Division 4AA rankings.

Ron Freeman had 11 points and Ellis Salahuddin scored nine for Serra (18-5), ranked No. 6 in Division 4AA. The Cavaliers led 30-23 at halftime.

Alex Copeland scored 14 points, Sam Weintraub had 11 and Michael Sheng added 10 for the Wolverines (15-7), ranked seventh in 4AA. Harvard-Westlake pulled to within two points early in the fourth quarter but Serra answered with an 8-0 run.

Price (Los Angeles) 56, Parker (San Diego) 32

Arizona State-bound guard Chance Murray scored all 15 of his points in the second and third quarters and added six steals as the Knights rolled to their sixth straight victory.

Chris Martin added nine points and five assists for Price (20-3), ranked third in Southern Section Division 4AA and No. 28 in the state.

Forward Evan Fitzner had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Lancers (11-8), ranked 10th in the San Diego Section.

Brentwood School (Los Angeles) 51, Rolling Hills Prep (San Pedro) 50

Ountae Campbell made a three-pointer with six seconds left to give the Eagles a one-point lead and they hung on to win without captains Tra Holder and Leland King. Eric Ambrose missed a driving layup at the buzzer as the Huskies (14-7) had their 12-game winning streak snapped.

Ambrose and Grant Kitani scored 14 points apiece and Austin Williams added 12 for Rolling Hills Prep, ranked second in Southern Section Division 5A.

Max Shapiro had 16 points for Brentwood (19-2), ranked No. 2 in Southern Section Division 4A and No. 20 in the state. Campbell added 11 points as did sophomore Maxwell Kupchak, son of Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak.

King, a Brown commit, missed the game because of SAT testing and Holder, a junior point guard, sat out with an ankle sprain. Both will be back for Monday's Alpha League showdown against Pacific Hills (Los Angeles).