CIF State Basketball: St. Anthony Falls at Notre Dame

A hard fought season came to a close for St Anthony as they dropped the second round of state playoffs 66-60 to Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

“It was hard. We had 32 minutes, but we probably executed for 21 of them,” said Saints head coach Alan Mitchell. “It came down some possessions and misreads on both ends, but heck of a job to Notre Dame.”

St Anthony was led by their senior stars Jaayden Bush and Elijah Price. Bush finished with 16 points and 5 rebounds while Price added 21 points and 6 rebounds.

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Those two in addition to senior guard Lucas Gray all had 8 points in the first half and had their team within five as they trailed 34-29 going into halftime. But the third quarter is where the Saints turned it around. Price dominated the paint offensively, scoring 10 of his points in the third quarter and giving St Anthony their first lead since the opening minutes. They headed into the fourth quarter with a two point lead, 48-46.

A lot of lead changes came in the final eight minutes. Both teams made big plays down the stretch but Notre Dame held a three point lead with under a minute to go. Saints had possession and with more than enough time on the clock, they elected to go for the two. Unfortunately they couldn’t get it to go and were forced to play the foul game in attempt to extend the game. However, Notre Dame knocked down their free throws and survived to advance to the next round.

“These kids may be the strongest I’ve ever seen mentally and emotionally. They grew by gaining confidence and trust. Those kids were more than conquerors. We put together a run that most people are probably surprised about but we are not even close to being surprised about it,” said Mitchell.