Eastvale Roosevelt boys basketball outlasts St. John Bosco 56-55 in overtime to repeat as The Classic at Damien Platinum Division champion

LA VERNE – If the Eastvale Roosevelt and St. John Bosco boys basketball teams meet again this season, it likely won’t be for another two months at the end of the CIF Southern Section Open Division tournament or in the Southern California Regional playoffs.

The first matchup between the state’s top two programs Monday night had all the atmosphere and drama of a postseason matchup.

Post-game interviews

Brayden Burries, the tournament MVP, scored eight of his game-high 24 points in overtime and Roosevelt held off St. John Bosco 56-55 in the Platinum Division championship game of The Classic at Damien at the Damien Athletic Center.

Brayden Burries of Eastvale Roosevelt | Pete Marshall photo

St. John Bosco (15-1) entered the game as the top-ranked team in the state and Roosevelt (15-1) was No. 2.

The final was a rematch of the championship game last year, won by Roosevelt, 68-65.

The Mustangs became the first team to secure back-to-back Platinum Division titles since Rancho Christian achieved the feat in 2018-19.

Burries’ final point came on a free throw with 8.2 seconds left in overtime, giving the Mustangs a 56-52 lead.

Max Ellis’ 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left brought the Braves within a point, but after a timeout, the Mustangs were able to successfully inbound the ball and run out the clock.

“All I want them to take from this is that we can win a lot of different ways,” Mustangs coach Stephen Singleton said. “We can win by scoring a lot of points. We can win by grinding it out and locking up on half-court defense.”

Roosevelt entered the game averaging more than 84 points per contest, but scored only three points in the first quarter and 46 points in regulation.

Neither team led by more than the Braves’ 37-31 advantage early in the fourth quarter, which was quickly erased by a 10-point Roosevelt run.

St. John Bosco forced overtime when Christian Collins (20 points) scored a layup with three seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 46-46.

The critical moment in overtime came with Roosevelt leading 53-51 in the final minute.

Collins appeared to score the tying basket on a driving layup.

Not only was the basket nullified, but Collins was called for an offensive foul – his fifth – which disqualified him with 24.2 seconds left.

“I felt like when he came (in the lane), he did push me,” Burries said.

Braves coach Matt Dunn was frustrated by that call, among others in overtime.

“They made one basket in overtime. We had the same number of baskets taken away they scored in the whole overtime,” Dunn said.

Burries made a 3-pointer to open the extra period, then the Mustangs made seven of 10 free throws the rest of overtime to pull out the victory.

The Braves were playing without junior point guard Brandon McCoy, Jr. who is out with a foot injury, but is expected back soon.

“He’s the best player in the country,” Dunn said. “But we did a lot of things that were enough to win the game.”

Myles Walker and Issac Williamson also made the all-tournament team for the Mustangs.

Williamson had nine points Monday after making a school-record 10 3-pointers and scoring 34 points in a semifinal win Saturday against Layton Christian Academy from Utah.

Walker scored 13 points Monday, and played more than nine minutes in the fourth quarter in overtime after picking up his fourth foul. He eventually fouled out with 10.8 seconds left in overtime. 

“We didn’t expect it to go that way (low-scoring),” Walker said. “But I felt like we wanted it more. We had to get all the loose balls and all the stops and rebounds and that’s what won us the game.”

Chris Komin (17 points), Elzie Harrington (eight points) and Collins all made the all-tournament team for St. John Bosco, which has lost to Roosevelt three times at The Classic at Damien, including in the Platinum Division at the inaugural event in 2016.

“Both teams are really good defensively and if we don’t have a ton of time to prepare, it’s hard to score,” Dunn said. “Roosevelt is a worthy champion, they’re really good. I felt like our toughness was pretty impressive tonight.”

Crespi 78, Anaheim Canyon 64: Senior Peyton White, the division MVP, scored 11 of his team-high 19 points in the second half to lead the Celts to the Gold Division title Monday at the Damien Athletic Center.

Carter Barnes scored 17 points, Christian Tshina-Nzambi contributed 15 points and Isaiah Barnes added 12 points in Crespi’s balanced attack. 

The Celts (13-4) built a 23-10 lead after the first quarter and held on for the victory. 

Anaheim Canyon (11-3) was led by senior Brandon Benjamin, who scored a game-high 30 points, along with 16 points from senior Staf Yilmazturk.