High School

Kansas commit Darryn Peterson, Prolific Prep take down No. 1 Columbus, Cameron Boozer in Florida blockbuster

Combo guard explodes for 33 points as Crew fight back from first-quarter hole to beat Columbus in convincing fashion

Mitch Stephens

Prolific Prep senior guard Darryn Peterson scored 33 points and added eight rebounds and four assists in a 66-54 victory over national No. 1 Columbus (Miami, Fla.) Friday night. This is from earlier in the season as the Crew improved to 7-0.
Prolific Prep senior guard Darryn Peterson scored 33 points and added eight rebounds and four assists in a 66-54 victory over national No. 1 Columbus (Miami, Fla.) Friday night. This is from earlier in the season as the Crew improved to 7-0. / Photo: Rick Manahan

Kansas commit Darryn Peterson made a case for being the top boys basketball in the senior class on Tuesday, the same night his Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) Crew beat the No. 1 squad in the land.

The 6-foot-5 combo guard headed to the University of Kansas scored 33 points and added eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks as Prolific Prep defeated Columbus (Miami, Fla.) 66-54 on the campus of Florida Atlantic University. 

Columbus, making its season debut, was SBLive’s preseason No. 1 team while the Crew of Napa Christian No. 11. They improved to 7-0.  

Columbus is led by the Boozer brothers, Cameron and Cayden, both who have committed to Duke. Cameron, a 6-9 senior power forward, is ranked the No. 2 player in the Class of 2025 by 247Sports behind former Prolific Prep forward AJ Dybantsa, now at Utah Prep, and just ahead of No. 3 Peterson. 

Considering how he dominated on Tuesday, Peterson might have elevated himself all the way to the top. 

high school basketball, California, Florida
Prolific Prep senior combo guard Darryn Peterson dunks home two of his game-high 33 points on Tuesday night in a 66-54 win over Columbus (Miami) at Florida Atlantic University on Nov. 19, 2024. / Photo: Rick Manahan

Nikola Bundalo, a 6-10 wing who along with Peterson transferred to Prolific Prep from Ohio over the summer, had 11 points and 14 rebounds. Teammate Steven Spurlock added nine points and six rebounds. 

Caleb Gaskins, a recent transfer from Montverde Academy, and Cameron Booker had 15 points apiece for Columbus and Jaxon Richardson contributed 12 and 10 rebounds. Cameron Booker also had nine rebounds and Cayden Boozer added seven points, four rebounds and three steals. 

Brothers Cayden (left) and Cameron Boozer (right) are two of the top recruits in the nation (Class of 2025) and a big reason
Brothers Cayden (left) and Cameron Boozer (right) are two of the top recruits in the nation (Class of 2025) and a big reason why Christopher Columbus (Miami) is a top-10 ranked team this season. / SBLive Sports

This was a rematch of last year's overtime thriller when Columbus came back from nine down with 1:15 left in the fourth quarter to win 81-78. 

On Tuesday, Columbus jumped out early, taking a 12-point lead late in the first quarter. By halftime, the Crew had caught up at 30-30 thanks to 11 second-quarter points by Peterson. 

A 3-pointer by Bundalo put Prolific Prep up 33-32 and it would never trail again. Two free throws by Spurlock gave the Crew its first double-digit lead, 56-46. Columbus would never close inside eight points.

high school basketball photo, Prolifc Prep, Columbus, Florida
Nikola Bundalo, a 6-10 senior wing, had 11 points and 14 rebounds for Prolific Prep on Tuesday in a 66-54 win over the nation's No. 1 ranked team Columbus (Miami). / File photo: Rick Manahan


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Mitch Stephens
MITCH STEPHENS

Mitch Stephens is a senior editor at SBLive Sports for California, a state he's covered high school sports since 1984. He won multiple CNPA and CPSWA writing awards with the Contra Costa Times, San Francisco Chronicle and MaxPreps.com before joining the SBLive staff in 2022. He's covered the beat nationally since 2007, profiling such athletes as Derrick Henry, Paige Bueckers, Patrick Mahomes, Sabrina Ionescu, Jayson Tatum, Chiney Ogwumike, Jeremy Lin and Najee Harris as preps. You can reach him at mitch@scorebooklive.com.

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