Mater Dei routs St. John Bosco: Southern California boys basketball scores, stats, updates (1/6/2024)

Class of 2026 recruit Brannon Martinsen had 19 points in the Monarchs' big win at Crypto.com Arena

LOS ANGELES - It was like a basketball clinic.

Each time down the floor, Mater Dei's offense moved the ball side to side. Made the extra pass. Crashed the glass to create extra possessions and shot high-quality shots.

Defensively, it was more of the same. Help defense anchored by communication. Fighting for loose balls. Boxing out. Getting back on defense. All of it.

It was the contrary for St. John Bosco, which is loaded with some of the West Coast's top recruits.

"We got our tails kicked in every way possible," Bosco coach Matt Dunn said.

Mater Dei stunned St. John Bosco, 83-62, in what seemed like an almost-perfect performance in a Trinity League tilt in the Coastal Catholic Classic at Crypto.com Arena Saturday night.

Four Mater Dei players scored in double figures, led by Brandon Benjamin's 18 points on 9 of 10 shooting which anchored a 63% clip shooting from the field as a team and assisted on 18 of 33 made field goals.

Brandon Benjamin of Mater Dei scored 18 points on 9 of 10 shooting to anchor the Monarch's 83-62 win over St. John Bosco in the Coastal Catholic Classic at Crypto.com Arena on Jan. 6, 2023 :: Tarek Fattal/SBLive

"Whatever they try and take away from us, we can just pivot to something else," Benjamin said. "When they key in on our bigs, we go to our guards. When they key in on our guards, we go to our bigs."

Brannon Martinsen had 19 points and seven rebounds. Owen Verna added 15 and Luke Barnett tallied 14 to keep the Monarchs unbeaten (3-0) in league play.

"The nice thing about this team, is you never know who's going to beat you," Mater Dei coach Gary McKnight said. "Every time we play, someone else has a different role. (Brandon) Benjamin didn't even start tonight, and he was MVP of the game."

Mater Dei’s Brandon Benjamin bullies his way to a bucket over/through four St. John Bosco defenders.

MD 30, SJB 21. 3:12, 2Q pic.twitter.com/zffvx5B2Kh

— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) January 7, 2024

St. John Bosco's Brandon McCoy had a game-high 23 points on 10 of 18 shooting. The Braves experienced their first double-digit deficit (45-34) in the third quarter before Mater Dei ballooned it to 54-37 later in the frame.

St. John Bosco carved its way to a 59-50 deficit in the fourth quarter, but a Martinsen basket inside followed by a Barnett corner 3-pointer made it 64-52.

"We rotate a strong group of seven guys that are willing to do that. This is a smart group, too," McKnight said of his Monarchs.

St. John Bosco shot 42% from the field, including 5 of 20 from downtown.

"I'm shocked to have a performance like that on a stage like this," Dunn said. 

Nice crowd here at Crypto filling the lower bowl. pic.twitter.com/v1MiNSNs95

— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) January 7, 2024

St. Augustine 74, Loyola 57: Jaden Bailes led the Saints with 23 points. Jonas de Krassel had 11 for Loyola.

TAKE FLIGHT CHALLENGE 

(at Redondo Union)

• Eastvale Roosevelt 62, Santa Maria St. Joseph 61: Brayden Burins had 26 points and Tounde Yessoufou had 27 for St. Joseph.
• Harvard-Westlake 74, Heritage Christian 62: Trent Perry led all scorers with 23 points. Nik Khamenia added 21 for HW. Josiah Nance scored 15 for HCS.
• Crossroads 62, Bishop Montgomery 47: Aiden Croshere led the RoadRunners with 14 points.
• Riverside Poly 64, Bosco Tech 46: JRob Croy led Poly with 22 points.
• Long Beach Poly 62, Gardena Serra 53: Jovani Ruff led the Jackrabbits with 24 points. Kaleb Kearse scored 24 points for Serra.
• Cathedral Catholic 67, Leuzinger 64: Ty Ingram hit a 3-pointer before the buzzer to clinch the victory. Ingram finished with 20 points.
• Valley Christian 47, Santa Monica 37: Gavin Stahl led Valley with 19 points.

SOCAL SHOWDOWN

(at Santiago Canyon College)

• Windward 63, Foothill 45: Jeremiah Hampton lifted the Wildcats to 15-3 with 15 points.
• Rancho Christian 60, St. Paul 53: Jayden Smoot scored 18 for Rancho Christian.
• La Mirada 76, Rancho Cucamonga 70 (2OT): Gene Roebuck had 25 points for La Mirada and Aaron Glass poured in 29 for RC.
• Rancho Verde 71, Valencia 53: Caelin Anderson had 19 points for RV. Valencia's Bryce Bedgood had 15.
• Chino 69, Diamond Bar 55: Shawn Jamison Jr. led Chino Hills with 26 points.

OTHER GAMES

• Sierra Canyon 51, St. Pius 42: Bryce Cofield led the Trailblazers with 16 points and Noah Williams added 11. David Mack had 17 for St. Pius. Star Tyrone Riley fouled out in the third quarter.
• Lynwood 90, Chatsworth 76: Jason Crowe Jr. scored 47 and Chatsworth's Alijah Arenas had 38 in a battle of top sophomores.