VALLEJO, Calif. — Entering 2021, the St. Patrick-St. Vincent Bruins had two main questions: How would they replace point guard Jalen Scott, and how would they replace center Dishon Jackson?
It turns out the answers to both those questions were one and the same.
Jaden Alexander ran the offense with efficiency and covered the glass with tenacity, posting a double-double and powering the Bruins to a 57-52 win over Miramonte in a Thursday night nonleague contest.
The 6-foot-4 senior forward had 24 points and 13 rebounds, scoring 18 in the first half to help St. Patrick-St. Vincent (2-0) take an 11-point halftime lead and stave off the Matadors down the stretch.
“I’m trying to prove myself, especially being in the Class of 2021,” Alexander said. “I’m trying to make the most that I can out of the 10-game season.”
He scored nine points in each of the first two quarters, knocking down one of his two 3-pointers to open up the second and kick off an eight-minute span in which the Bruins outscored the visitors 17-9. Miramonte (4-2) would close to four in the third on a Tyler Dutto 3-pointer and end the quarter within six on Dutto’s finger roll at the buzzer, but SPSV stretched the lead back to nine as the Matadors struggled from the free-throw line.
“We kind of gave that game away,” Miramonte head coach Chris Lavdiotis said of his team’s free-throw shooting. “We earned the possibility to win that game but we made some not-so-great decisions down the stretch. The kids played their butts off, and that’s really all we can ask of them. We’d like some better decisions, but we’ve got to help with that.”
The Matadors went 14-of-23 on free throws in the second half, missing the front end of a 1-and-1 with an airball and missing four key attempts in the fourth quarter. After Tariq Johnson gave the Bruins a 44-37 lead, Dutto missed a pair at the line, and despite getting the rebound off his own miss, Miramonte would ultimately turn it over and allow a basket to Alyas Vigil on the next possession.
An Alexander transition dunk off a long feed from Jevon Blackmore made it 51-41 with just over three minutes left, and the Matadors would miss two more free throws before Dutto led a heroic last-ditch effort. He scored all of his team-high 20 points in the second half, answering a basket by Blackmore with a 3-pointer to make it a 53-46 ballgame with 1:11 to go. The Matadors forced a turnover on the ensuing inbound after a timeout, but a heroic block by Blackmore kept the margin at seven.
“We forced three turnovers on the press, and we’re not a pressing team,” Lavdioitis commented.
Blackmore made 1-of-2 free throws as the Bruins went just 2-of-6 at the line over the next minute. Dutto hit a 3-pointer to make it a four-point game and was fouled after a steal, but split a pair at the line with 13.1 left. Miramonte fouled Nick Medeiros on the ensuing inbound, and the reserve made both free throws to effectively finish the game off.
Almost all of SPSV’s 23 second-half points came off steals and free throws as the Matadors ratcheted up the defense after allowing 34 in the opening two quarters. They allowed just seven points in the third quarter, with a late basket by Blackmore serving as the only one against Miramonte’s set defense.
“Sometimes there isn’t a magic formula. Just execute the gameplan and do what we’ve been practicing,” Lavdiotis explained. “Have some pride in your defensive effort. We worked today on defending the flex cut, loading up on Jaden when he drives to the left wing.”
Even with an increased focus on Alexander, he still managed to post a double-double, excelling in a role that he had been forced into last year when both Jackson and Scott battled injuries.
“They were hurt a lot, so that heavy-duty role came on me fast,” Alexander said. “That’s why I’m well-prepared for this.”
Each team had a double-double on the ledger, with Dutto grabbing 10 rebounds to round his out. James Frye scored nine of his 11 in the first half for Miramonte, while Niyi Olabode finished with nine points and eight rebounds despite a difficult shooting night.
Noah McNeal-Franklin scored eight for the Bruins, while Blackmore and Johnson each chipped in seven off the bench. The SPSV bench outscored the Miramonte reserves 18-6.
“They stepped in and helped out big time,” head coach Derek Walker said.
The Bruins will face another Diablo Athletic League team on Wednesday when they visit Campolindo (8-0). Miramonte returns to action on Saturday with a home tilt against Oakland Tech.
