Brandon McCoy Jr. was back on the court for St. John Bosco on Monday night, and that changes everything in Southern Section basketball.
Sidelined since Nov. 30 when he sustained a lower leg injury, McCoy returned to score 10 points in the Braves’ 64-62 Trinity League win over JSerra.
“I’m happy to be back,” McCoy said.
McCoy was the subject of lots of rumors whether he’d even return this season. He said he ignored them. He said he was cleared to play and his place on the court proved to be an immediate benefit for Chris Komin, who made five three-pointers and was left open as JSerra (17-5, 3-2) was forced to focus on other players.
“It changes all the matchups,” St. John Bosco coach Matt Dunn said.
Said Komin: “He pulls in defenders and gets me open shots.”
Elizie Harrington gave a big lift to the Braves (19-3, 3-1) with 22 points, including a decisive three-pointer with just over a minute left that gave St. John Bosco a four-point cushion. Jarne Eyenga led JSerra with 21 points and BJ Davis-Ray had 18 points. The Braves overcame five fouls to Christian Collins, who was limited to two points.
“That’s a great win with what we’ve been through,” Dunn said.
The expectation is with more practices and more games, McCoy will be even better. He’s ranked among the top juniors in the nation.
Washington D.C. Gonzaga 73, Eastvale Roosevelt 55: The Mustangs were beaten in their trip to Springfield, Mass. Brayden Burries led Roosevelt (23-2) with 14 points. Roosevelt made just four of 25 shots from three-point range. Gonzaga lost to Harvard-Westlake 66-63 earlier this season.
Windward 74, Long Beach Millikan 52: Jeremiah Hampton finished with 17 points for the Wildcats, who resume Gold Coast League play this week.
St. Bonaventure 62, Brentwood 57: The Eagles lost in their first game in 16 days. Freshman Charlie Adams led St. Bonaventure with 22 points. Freshman Shalen Sheppard had 16 points for Brentwood.
Crossroads 67, Price 61: Lucas Boze finished with 23 points for Crossroads, which is scheduled to play five games in six days this week.
Verbum Dei 56, Loyola 55: Ryan Figueroa had 17 points for Verbum Dei (12-8).
Girls basketball
Etiwanda 74, St. Louis Incarnate Word 65: The Eagles (16-4) ended Incarnate Word’s 141-game winning streak behind Aliyahna Morris, who finished with 26 points. It was Etiwanda’s 12th consecutive victory.
Brentwood 69, Fairmont Prep 59: The Eagles (13-5) won two games Monday, with Payton Sugar scoring 24 points against Fairmont Prep and Lev Feiman scoring 16 points in a 75-43 win over Legacy earlier in the day.
Mater Dei 61, Windward 39: Kaeli Wynn scored 20 points for Mater Dei.
