Brandon McCoy Jr. was back on the court for St. John Bosco Monday night, and it changes everything in Southern Section basketball.
Sidelined since Nov. 30 when he suffered a 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 has been the subject of numerous rumors about his return this season. He said he ignored them. He said he was cleared to play and his spot on the court proved to be an immediate advantage for Chris Komin, who made five three-pointers and was left open as JSerra (17-5, 3-2) was forced to focus on others. players.
“It changes every matchup,” St. John Bosco coach Matt Dunn said.
Komin said: “It attracts defenders and allows me to shoot freely.”
Elizie Harrington gave the Braves (19-3, 3-1) a big boost with 22 points, including a game-clinching three-pointer with just over a minute left that gave St. John Bosco a lead by four points. Jarne Eyenga led JSerra with 21 points and BJ Davis-Ray with 18 points. The Braves overcame five fouls against Christian Collins, who was limited to two runs.
“It’s a great win considering what we’ve been through,” Dunn said.
The expectation is that with more practices and more games, McCoy will be even better. He is ranked among the best juniors in the country.
Washington DC Gonzaga 73, Eastvale Roosevelt 55: The Mustangs were defeated on their trip to Springfield, Massachusetts. Brayden Burries led Roosevelt (23-2) with 14 points. Roosevelt made just four of 25 three-pointers. 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 return to Gold Coast League play this week.
Saint-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.
Carrefour 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
This is the first loss in almost five years for the Incarnate Word (MO) as a no. 16 Etiwanda (CA) beats them 74-65 🤯
Cal commit Puff Morris scored 26 for 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hNE81jElsc
– NEXT Sports Center (@SCNext) January 20, 2025
Etiwanda 74, Incarnate Word of Saint-Louis 65: The Eagles (16-4) ended Incarnate Word’s 141-game winning streak behind Aliyahna Morris, who finished with 26 points. This is 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, To the Wind 39: Kaeli Wynn scored 20 points for Mater Dei.
This story was originally published in Los Angeles Times.
