Kaiden Bailey made a half-court shot at the end of the third quarter Friday night, capping a surge for Santa Margarita that resulted in a 17-point lead over JSerra.
Bailey was asked by a sportswriter, “When are you going to get hot?”
“I’m always hot,” he replied.
Yes, shooters believe they can make any shot, and Bailey had three three-pointers in the third quarter while finishing with 25 points as Santa Margarita won an important Trinity League opener with a 70-49 victory over JSerra.
The Eagles (15-3) used their size to make it uncomfortable for JSerra (16-4, 2-1), forcing the Lions to miss shots. The trio of 6-foot-9 Dallas Washington, 6-8 Drew Anderson and 6-8 Brayden Kyman were a collective defensive presence.
Santa Margarita coach Justin Bell contributed with two important timeouts to settle down his players when JSerra was closing deficits. Santa Margarita held an eight-point halftime lead. The Eagles went a little cold to start the third, with the lead dwindling to four points. An Anderson follow shot broke the scoring drought, and then Bailey took over. He made consecutive threes, followed by his final three of the third when he just passed the half-court line and fired the ball through the net while looking at a fired-up Santa Margarita home student section.
“God told me it was my day,” Bailey said.
Washington finished with 17 points and Kyman had 15 points. BJ Davis-Ray led JSerra with 16 points.
Mater Dei 62, St. John Bosco 59: The Monarchs (13-4) pulled off the upset of No. 3-ranked St. John Bosco with a home victory. Luke Barnett scored 23 points. Elzie Harrington had 26 points for the Braves.
Damien 74, Upland 29: Zaire Rasshan had 17 points and Eli Garner 16 for Damien.
Wiseburn 52, Palos Verdes 49: Ahmose Daniels finished with 15 points.
Los Alamitos 102, Marina 81: Liam Gray led Los Alamitos with 24 points and Samori Guyness added 19 points.
Anaheim Canyon 81, La Habra 64: Brandon Benjamin scored 37 points to lead the Comanches to a league victory.
Girls basketball
Hart 61, West Ranch 20: Morgan Mack had 23 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists for Hart.
