BELLFLOWER — The St. John Bosco basketball team used an 18-2 run to rally in the third quarter before holding on late for a 73-65 victory against Servite to earn a share of its second consecutive Trinity League championship on Friday.
On Senior Night for the Braves, senior forward Christian Collins finished with a game-high 23 points.
“We can’t take anybody lightly in this league,” Collins said.
The Braves, who trailed Servite 26-23 at halftime, got off to a slow start while trying to shake off a 72-68 loss at Orange Lutheran on Wednesday. That loss prevented them from winning the league title outright.
Collins scored 11 of his points in a pivotal third quarter, which saw the Braves outscore the Friars 26-13 and establish a 49-39 lead going into the fourth quarter. The 6-foot-9, five-star recruit also grabbed 12 rebounds.
“I realized I had to rebound more,” Collins explained. “(JSerra’s Jake Schutt) was getting a lot of offensive rebounds so I had to lock in on that and box him out. I also had to take my time when I had the ball because I felt like we were being rushed and making a lot of silly mistakes but as a team we pulled it in.”
Bosco senior guard Gavin Dean-Moss had 13 points and five rebounds. Senior forward Max Ellis scored 10 points.
The Braves improved to 19-6 overall and 4-1 in the Trinity League. Bosco played 21 nonleague games during the regular season, including several out-of-state tournaments, and lost only to two in-state opponents.
“Incredibly proud of this group because it’s been a long journey to get here,” St. John Bosco coach Matt Dunn said.
Freshman guard Tariq Johnson led Servite (18-10, 0-5) with 11 of his team-high 21 points in the fourth quarter. Johnson made five 3-pointers.
Schutt had a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Servite freshman guard Saiger Smith scored eight of his 12 points in the fourth quarter.
“I’m proud of how our guys responded,” said Servite first-year coach Matt Kanne. “I thought we really competed on the defensive end. I thought it was our best defensive game of the season.”
Ellis’ 3-pointer tied it at 26 early in the third quarter. Schutt’s transition 3-pointer made it 29-26.
Collins’ three-point play tied it at 29 all. Ellis’ putback off his own miss made it 31-29.
Smith made two free throws to tie it at 31 all.
Schutt’s offensive board and three-point play made it 34-31 with 5:21 left in the third.
Collins’ putback, followed by a dunk off a lob from Ellis, and then a layup from the mid-post gave Bosco a 37-34 lead with 3:37 left in the third.
Dean-Moss’ transition layup pushed it to 39-34. Johnson made two free throws to cut it to 39-36.
Dean-Moss’ layup made it 41-36 late in the third. Ellis’ layup pushed it to 43-36.
Dean-Moss’ up-and-under layup made it 45-36. Collins’ fastbreak dunk established a 47-36 advantage, which was Bosco’s first double-digit lead of the game.
Sophomore guard Chace Patterson’s layup made it 49-36. Johnson’s 3-pointer cut it to 49-39 going into the fourth quarter.
Bosco used a 10-3 run to start the fourth, which capped off a greater 28-8 surge and extended their lead to 59-42 with 5:52 remaining in the game.
Schutt’s 3-pointer cut it to 70-62 late but Dean-Moss made two free throws to make it 72-62 with 26.2 seconds remaining.
Smith made a desperation 3-pointer with less than 10 seconds to go but Bosco ran out the clock to secure the 73-65 victory.
Servite’s phenomenal first half
Johnson scored Servite’s first five points. Freshman forward Carlos Galvan’s layup put the Friars up 7-0 early.
Bosco senior center Howie Wu’s putback cut it to 7-2 midway through the first.
Collins’ layup through contact made it 7-4. He missed the free throw. Dean-Moss’ fastbreak layup made it 7-6.
Collins’ layup gave the Braves their first lead, 8-7, with three minutes left in the first.
Hannan’s bank shot put Servite back up 9-8. Senior Tariq Iscandari’s 3-pointer gave Bosco an 11-9 lead late in the first.
Sophomore guard Aaron Anderson’s steal and fastbreak layup put Bosco up 13-9 at the end of the first.
Dean-Moss’ coast-to-coast layup made it 15-9 early in the second quarter.
Schutt’s jumper cut it to 15-11. Dean-Moss’ lob to Collins for a baseline layup pushed it to 17-11.
Hannan’s bank shot cut it to 17-13.
Bosco senior forward Dominic Perfetti’s layup made it 19-13.
Servite senior guard Jack Kennedy’s 3-pointer cut it to 19-16. Schutt’s 3-pointer tied it at 19 all.
Collins’ monster baseline dunk put the Braves back up 21-19.
Schutt’s three-point play, capitalized on a steal in Bosco’s backcourt, which put Servite back up 22-21.
Smith’s potential three-point play made it 24-21 but he missed the free throw. Schutt made 1 of 2 free throws to go up 25-21.
Collins’ offensive rebound and putback cut it to 25-23.
Galvan made 1 of 2 free throws, which put Servite up 26-23 at halftime.
Trinity League tournament
The Trinity League will hold its first boys basketball tournament next week.
Servite, the No. 6 seed, will play a first-round game against the No. 3 JSerra at Irvine Valley College on Monday.
Bosco, the No. 1 seed, will have a bye on Monday. The Braves will play a semifinal game against the winner of the No. 4 Mater Dei vs. No. 5 Orange Lutheran game on Tuesday at Hope International University in Fullerton.
The championship and third-place games, which will determine the Trinity League’s three automatic playoff berths, will be played Wednesday at Hope International University.
CIF Southern Section boys basketball playoff brackets will be released on Saturday, Feb. 7, at noon.
St. John Bosco 2026 Christian Collins on his double-double performance to lead the Braves to a 73-65 win over Servite, which secured back-to-back Trinity League titles.
Bosco will be the No. 1 seed in next week’s Trinity League tournament. pic.twitter.com/S3US2LBAf1
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) January 31, 2026
St. John Bosco basketball coach Matt Dunn on his team’s second half surge to rally past Servite for a 73-65 victory on Senior Night and earn a share of back-to-back Trinity League titles. pic.twitter.com/WZhlgKBtLx
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) January 31, 2026
Servite basketball coach Matt Kanne talks about his team’s fight and defensive execution in a 73-65 loss at St. John Bosco Friday night.
Servite is 18-10 overall heading into next week’s Trinity League tournament. pic.twitter.com/jr9LT8Wimt
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) January 31, 2026
