A Scout’s Take: St. Bernard vs St. Anthony (Part 1)

Joel Francisco

February 23, 2022 @ 02:41 PM

Francisco’s Finest: St. Bernard vs St. Anthony (Part 1) LONG BEACH, Ca—It was a frenetic night in Errion Gym in front of a full capacity crowd as the Saints of St. Anthony came up a bit short against league foe St. Bernard. The Vikings would earn their third victory of the year over the Saints in a thrilling 66-64 victory. The perimeter play was the determining factor for the Vikings as Jason Hart Jr (20-points) led the way at both ends of the floor. [player_tooltip player_id="954255" first="Elijah" last="Price"] (St. Anthony) did his best to keep the Saints in it and fellow senior [player_tooltip player_id="748743" first="Jaayden" last="Bush"] put together a spectacular 4th quarter, but Hart and junior [player_tooltip player_id="994964" first="Tyler" last="Rolison"] were too much to handle in transition as the Vikings had too many exploration opportunities at the rim where points came in abundance. Fran’s Finest MVP Jason Hart Jr (St. Bernard) 2022, PG, 6-foot-2, 175 pounds Joel’s Take: There may not be a better feeling than performing at a high level in front of your future college coach—but that is exactly what Hart did as he put together a fantastic performance in front of Dan Monson (Long Beach State). The slick lefty was a menace to deal with in transition as he exploded to the rim on a number of occasions—including some impressive acrobatic finishes in the paint. If the drive wasn’t available, the gifted lefty knocked in a number of jump shots to keep vaulting his team to victory. Interior impact [player_tooltip player_id="954255" first="Elijah" last="Price"] (St. Anthony) 2022, F, 6-foot-9, 200 pounds <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/02/Elijah-Price.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-1390353 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/02/Elijah-Price-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a> Joel’s Take: After an incredible surge where he dropped 12-points in the 1st quarter, it looked like Price was on his way to dominating the whole game. His length was a problem for the undersized Vikings, but as the game evolved, the speed of the game turned it into a wide-open affair. Price did end up with 20-points and he converted most of it in the paint area where his length and skill were major factors. In addition, he runs well and he plays at a great pace where he rarely forces the action. However, going forward he needs to increase his strength and develop a stronger base while finishing in traffic as there were a number of plays where he struggled to score through contact. A true gamer [player_tooltip player_id="748743" first="Jaayden" last="Bush"] (St. Anthony) 2022, PG, 6-foot-1, 170 pounds Joel’s Take: For about 3 quarters, Bush was relatively quiet for his standards. He managed the offense and got his teammates some quality looks. Unfortunately, the Saints struggled from beyond the arc for much of the game. However, in the 4th quarter, Bush dominated the scoring and ended up with 23-points. He nailed some deep 3s and was relentless in transition as he converted at the rim on a number of occasions. Mid-range master [player_tooltip player_id="992482" first="Darius" last="Carr"] (St. Bernard) 2023, SG, 6-foot-3, 195 pounds Joel’s Take: Overall, Carr’s game was a bit of a mixed bag. In the 1st half, he showed off his impressive repertoire from the mid-range. He hit a number of difficult jump shots off the dribble and in the paint area over the length of Eliljah Price. He’s an explosive leaper as well and executed an incredible tip-in off a lob pass from Rolison. However, overall the Saints did an outstanding job of closing out on him where he struggled to get any clean looks. Despite having a quality handle, there were also times he tried to break down the defense, but there were too many active hands and as a result, it led to a number of turnovers.