TORRANCE >> With the game on the line, the difference between the St. Anthony and Bishop Montgomery boys basketball teams became apparent in front of a packed gym.
The Saints trailed for the majority of the game, but took their first lead on a three-point play from Jadon Jones with 2:32 remaining.
Meanwhile, the Knights, who had an easier time playing with the lead, never recovered once they fell behind, and the Saints rallied for a 50-40 win in the Del Rey League on Wednesday.
The Saints (23-1, 4-0) outscored the Knights 16-4 over the last 4:35 of the game.
Jones led the Saints with 19 points.
Isaiah Johnson led the Knights (15-8, 2-2) with 13 points and Christian Bood had 11.
“I didn’t have anybody that wanted to shoot the ball beside Isaiah (Johnson),” Bishop Montgomery coach Doug Mitchell said. “Nobody wanted to step up and make a play. They played afraid and we’ve kind of done that in close games … frustrating because you would think that after 20-something odd games, you would have guys be willing to step up and make a play.”
On the other hand, St. Anthony and coach Allen Caveness watched as Jones and Gorden Boykins came up with big shot after big shot in the fourth quarter.
After Jones’ three-point play gave the Saints their first lead at 40-39, Boykins followed with his 3-point play and then he drilled a 3-pointer, giving the Saints a 46-39 lead.
“We couldn’t make a shot for the first half and part of the third quarter,” Caveness said. “Give them (Bishop Montgomery) credit, they’re a good defensive team, but we couldn’t throw a pea in the ocean.
“We were finally able to make a couple of shots, so that helped. We’re a good defensive team, so even when we weren’t making shots, (we held them to) 23 points at the half. And we were a little bit better in the third quarter, and our ability to make shots and still continue to defend was what helped us get through.”
The Knights held a 36-31 early in the fourth quarter after Kris Krause’s 3-pointer. Then came a tough stretch on the offensive end as the Knights had four possessions end in turnovers, giving the Saints some much-needed life.
“Our energy picked up,” Jones said. “We had a slow start in the first half and then we started converting. We wanted to win, we knew we could beat them, we beat them early in the season, we knew we were capable.
“The dog in us came out. It should have come out earlier, but it came out at the right time and we were able to pull through.”
After Johnson and Bood, five other Knight players combined for 16 points.
“We didn’t take shots. I thought we had guys open that are supposed to be good 3-point shooters … I’m frustrated right now,” Mitchell said.
This was the second meeting between the teams. St. Anthony defeated Bishop Montgomery 48-45 on Nov. 23, in the final of the Ryse Williams Pac Shores Tournament.
They will meet again Feb. 5.
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Girls basketball
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