BELLFLOWER — St. John Bosco sophomore point guard Elzie Harrington and senior center Xinyi Li combined for 27 points to propel the Braves to a big 55-30 win at home against Trinity League rival Santa Margarita Wednesday.
Bosco improved to 20-3 overall and 5-0 in league play. The Braves are in sole possession of first place in the Trinity League with five league games remaining.
St. John Bosco basketball sophomore point guard Elzie Harrington (3) drives on Santa Margarita’s Brayden Kyman (34) during a game between Santa Margarita High and St. John Bosco High in a Trinity League Boys basketball game at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California on Wednesday, January 18, 2023. (Photo by Michael Goulding)
St. John Bosco basketball guard Elzie Harrington (3) drives on Santa Margarita’s Jonathan Moxie (4) during a game between Santa Margarita High and St. John Bosco High in a Trinity League Boys basketball game at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California on Wednesday, January 18, 2023. (Photo by Michael Goulding)
St. John Bosco basketball senior center Xinyi Li (23) slams home two points during a game between Santa Margarita High and St. John Bosco High in a Trinity League Boys basketball game at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California on Wednesday, January 18, 2023. (Photo by Michael Goulding)
St. John Bosco basketball center Xinyi Li (23) and Santa Margarita’s Rockwell Reynolds (13) battle for a rebound during a game between Santa Margarita High and St. John Bosco High in a Trinity League Boys basketball game at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California on Wednesday, January 18, 2023. (Photo by Michael Goulding)
St. John Bosco basketball center Xinyi Li (23) defends Santa Margarita’s Rockwell Reynolds (13) during a game between Santa Margarita High and St. John Bosco High in a Trinity League Boys basketball game at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California on Wednesday, January 18, 2023. (Photo by Michael Goulding)
St. John Bosco basketball guard Brandon McCoy Jr (0) and Santa Margarita’s Jonathan Moxie (4) chase a loose ball during a game between Santa Margarita High and St. John Bosco High in a Trinity League Boys basketball game at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California on Wednesday, January 18, 2023. (Photo by Michael Goulding)
St. John Bosco basketball forward Kade Bonam (5) shoots over Santa Margarita’s Rockwell Reynolds (13) during a game between Santa Margarita High and St. John Bosco High in a Trinity League Boys basketball game at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California on Wednesday, January 18, 2023. (Photo by Michael Goulding)
St. John Bosco basketball forward Kade Bonam (5) defends Santa Margarita’s Preston Lee (0) during a game between Santa Margarita High and St. John Bosco High in a Trinity League Boys basketball game at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California on Wednesday, January 18, 2023. (Photo by Michael Goulding)
St. John Bosco basketball guard DJ Harrington (13) passes off under the basket during a game between Santa Margarita High and St. John Bosco High in a Trinity League Boys basketball game at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California on Wednesday, January 18, 2023. (Photo by Michael Goulding)
St. John Bosco basketball’s DJ Harrington (13) and Elzie Harrington (3) rebound over St. John Bosco’s Ray Robinson (34) during a game between Santa Margarita High and St. John Bosco High in a Trinity League Boys basketball game at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California on Wednesday, January 18, 2023. (Photo by Michael Goulding)
St. John Bosco basketball head coach Matt Dunn directs his players during a game between Santa Margarita High and St. John Bosco High in a Trinity League Boys basketball game at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California on Wednesday, January 18, 2023. (Photo by Michael Goulding)
Santa Margarita boys basketball head coach Justin Bell directs his players during a game between Santa Margarita High and St. John Bosco High in a Trinity League Boys basketball game at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California on Wednesday, January 18, 2023. (Photo by Michael Goulding)
Santa Margarita boys basketball senior forward Rockwell Reynolds (13) tries to get off a shot in front of St. John Bosco’s Kade Bonam (5) during a game between Santa Margarita High and St. John Bosco High in a Trinity League Boys basketball game at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California on Wednesday, January 18, 2023. (Photo by Michael Goulding)
St. John Bosco basketball guard Jack Turner (10) and Santa Margarita’s Jonathan Moxie (4) battle for the the ball during a game between Santa Margarita High and St. John Bosco High in a Trinity League Boys basketball game at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California on Wednesday, January 18, 2023. (Photo by Michael Goulding)
St. John Bosco basketball forward Kade Bonam (5) out rebounds St. John Bosco’s Elzie Harrington (3) during a game between Santa Margarita High and St. John Bosco High in a Trinity League Boys basketball game at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California on Wednesday, January 18, 2023. (Photo by Michael Goulding)
Santa Margarita boys basketball junior forward Tobias Averill (14) gets swarmed by St. John Bosco’s Jack Turner (10) during a game between Santa Margarita High and St. John Bosco High in a Trinity League Boys basketball game at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California on Wednesday, January 18, 2023. (Photo by Michael Goulding)
St. John Bosco basketball freshman guard Brandon McCoy Jr (0) gets swarmed by Santa Margarita’s defense during a game between Santa Margarita High and St. John Bosco High in a Trinity League Boys basketball game at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California on Wednesday, January 18, 2023. (Photo by Michael Goulding)
Bosco played stifling defense all game, especially in the first quarter, in which they held Santa Margarita scoreless. The Braves led 12-0 heading into the second quarter.
“We knew he had to make our best efforts on the defensive end,” Harrington said. “That’s what we’ve been preaching all week in practice and last week and that’s what we came out and did.”
Bosco coach Matt Dunn was more than pleased with his team’s effort for all four quarters. Dunn believes they have what it takes to be a CIF Southern Section Open Division playoff team.
“Our intensity and our focus defensively was incredible from the very beginning,” Dunn said. “The thing I was more proud of was I thought we were able to do it for 32 minutes. That’s kind of been of struggle. I tell our guys we’re one of the best teams in the country but we have to be consistent in order to really play that way and for 32 minutes we played incredibly hard and incredibly focused.”
Santa Margarita (20-4, 4-1) was led by 6-foot-8 senior power forward Rockwell Reynolds, who scored 22 of his team’s 30 points. Reynolds also grabbed a team-high five rebounds.
Bosco led 26-12 at halftime. Reynolds had 11 of Santa Margarita’s 12 points in the first half.
Harrington, a 6-foot-5 point guard, finished with a team-high 14 points and six rebounds. The Braves also got a big game from Li, a 6-foot-9 center, who scored 13 points and grabbed three rebounds.
Junior guard Jack Turner and senior guard Delyle Williams also scored nine points and grabbed three rebounds, respectively.
Meanwhile, the second half was more of the same intensity from Bosco as they never let up with key defensive pressure and from senior guard DJ Harrington, junior guard Amiri Meadows and freshman guard Brandon McCoy Jr. Meanwhile, Li and Harrington combined for 14 of Bosco’s 19 points in the third quarter.
“My coach has harped on me a lot (that) how much I scored doesn’t matter as much,” Harrington continued. “Finding every way you can affect to win is important so I don’t need to score. We have other people who can score on my team, so just focusing on rebounding will keep me in the game even when I’m not scoring.”
“He’s really turned that up in league play,” Dunn added when asked about Harrington’s impact. “He’s an incredibly talented kid and he’s still learning how many different ways he can affect the game. He’s getting better. He’s a special player and a special young man and the best is still to come for him.”
The Braves led 45-21 heading into the fourth quarter and ultimately won 55-30.
“When great athletes are really focused and play really hard, that’s the kind of stuff that can happen defensively,” Dunn shared.
“I think we’re a really good unit and we have good team chemistry and we were able to put it together (Wednesday),” Harrington added.
Santa Margarita will host Orange Lutheran on Friday.
St. John Bosco will host Servite on Friday and rival Mater Dei on Wednesday, Jan. 25.
Harrington said finishing the first round of Trinity League undefeated will help the Braves keep the faith.
“Definitely confidence and I think that’s the most important thing going into games, how confident you are, that’s the biggest thing and I know we still have to keep our edge though on the defensive end,” Harrington concluded.
