It wasn’t the start that head coach Allen Caveness was hoping for. His St. Anthony boys’ basketball team hit the big time this year, moved by the CIF Southern Section into Division 1 and ranked highly by outlets like Cal Hi Sports, which put them 29 in the State, above traditional powers like Long Beach Poly.
But the Saints came out of the gate slowly at the Pac Shores Tournament in Redondo in the first week of the season, going 1-3 with three season-opening losses to Washington Prep, Fairfax, and Santa Margarita before they bounced back in a big way against Lynwood.
“Am I still allowed to report stats if we’re 1-3?” cracked Caveness on Saturday evening.
There’s plenty of silver lining: the three losses were all to potential Open Division teams, and the win over the Knights showed the promise of the season for the Saints, who got 13 points and seven rebounds per game from Frank Staine in the Tournament. They beat Lynwood 68-43 behind 25 points from Jadon Jones, who needed only three quarters to reach that mark. Jordan Udenze added 13 points for St. Anthony in the win.
