High School

Brandon McCoy wills St. John Bosco to Classic at Damien tournament final

McCoy showed why he's the top prospect in the 2026 class Friday night

Tarek Fattal

When in doubt, get the ball to your best player. That's what St. John Bosco did trailing in the waning moments Friday night.

Senior Jack Turner was fouled out and the Braves trailed to Richmond Salesian in overtime with a chance to play in a tournament final on the line.

Superstar sophomore Brandon McCoy scored five of St. John Bosco's final seven points to complete a 68-66 comeback victory over Salesian in the Classic at Damien Platinum Division semifinal.

St. John Bosco will take on Eastvale Roosevelt, 76-71 winners over Damien in overtime in the other semifinal, in the Platinum final Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. at Damien High. Roosevelt's Brayden Burries had 31 points.

McCoy is one of the most touted prospects in the country and ranks as the top guard in America in the 2026 class. 

It showed Friday night in his 28-point performance.

St. John Bosco trailed 64-61 with 2:35 to play before McCoy hit a pull-up jumper and a 3-pointer in back-to-back possessions to take the lead. Teammate Elzie Harrington scored a layup with 35 seconds left to break a 66-66 tie.

Salesian ended up getting a catch-and-shoot opportunity with 0.4 seconds left, but the shot was called off.

Harrington and Kade Bonam finished with 14 points each.

St. John Bosco’s Brandon McCoy in the Classic at Damien :: Tarek Fattal/SBLive

In the Gold Division in the Classic at Damien, St. Pius fell to San Ramon Valley 67-62 in the semifinal, and West Ranch fell to Dixie of Utah 74-69.

San Ramon Valley and Dixie will make up a non-Southern Section Gold Division final on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Damien High

St. Pius falls to 10-2 on the season, but not before putting together an impressive first six weeks of the season, including a one-point loss to Harvard-Westlake, a win over La Mirada, and winning the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas.

DEC. 29, FRIDAY NIGHT SCORES

Harvard-Westlake 78, Perry (AZ) 56: Trent Perry and Nik Khamenia each scored 21 points and Robert Hinton added 18. The Wolverines will take on Columbus (FL) in the Les Schwab Invitational final at 8:45 p.m.

Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks 73, Alemany 41: Mercy Miller had 22 points and Lino Mark added 21 points. Mark was named SoCal Christmas Classic tournament MVP.

Crespi 60, Clayton Valley 53: Joe Sterling had 23 points for the Celts.

Heritage Christian 67, Basha 62 (AZ): Dillan Shaw notched a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Tae Simmons out-did Shaw with 23 points and 19 rebounds.

Sierra Canyon 87, Oak Park 37: Bryce Cofield led the way with 20 points. Justin Pippen added 18.

Chatsworth 73, Sierra Pacific 62: Alijah Arenas scored 44 points for the Chancellors.

Walnut 64, Covina 56: Myles Wainwright led the way with 16 points to help Walnut win the Covina tournament.

Santa Margarita 75, Bishop O'Dowd 39: Brayden Kyman had 25 points and Cameron McNamee added 22.

St. Anthony 74, Rancho Buena 70: Jojo Wicker had 21 points.

St. Francis 50, St. Bonaventure 36: Mazi Mosley had 13 for the Golden Knights.

JSerra 75, St. Francis (NY) 57: Aidan Fowler had 20 points and Sebastian Rancik added 18.

Crescenta Valley 65, Granada Hills 63: Vaughn Zargarian hit the game-winner with one second left. He finished with 22 points.

Alemany basketball gets new look, huge boost from Dorsey, Mbingazo, Tshilobo

Published
Tarek Fattal, SBLive Sports
TAREK FATTAL

Tarek Fattal has been covering high school sports since 2015 in Southern California and primarily in Los Angeles, covering notable athletes such as Bronny James, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Alyssa Thompson. He was with the LA Daily News for eight years, which included being the beat reporter for the UCLA men's basketball team. Tarek can be seen on TV regularly on CBS/KCAL as a sports analyst with Jim Hill.

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