Four Takeaways: St. Anthony vs. Torrey Pines

<p>SAN DIEGO — Tuesday’s CIF State Division 1 matchup between St. Anthony of Long Beach and San Diego-based Torrey Pines was expected to be a battle of senior leaders. For the Saints, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="748743" first="Jaayden" last="Bush"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="954255" first="Elijah" last="Price"]</strong> lived up to their billing as go-to guys. It was a different story for the Falcons whose top player, 6-foot-8 big man <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="970252" first="Otto" last="Landrum"]</strong>, was hit with foul trouble which opened the door to a couple of big St. Anthony runs.</p> <p>The Saints took advantage of the lack of rim protection and open driving lanes en route to a 64-52 road victory over Torrey Pines. Bush finished with 23 points and seven assists, while Price added nine points and 11 rebounds. The unsung hero of the game for St. Anthony was freshman guard <strong>Jaedyn Patterson</strong> who scored 15 points and hit a couple of clutch three-pointers.</p> <p>Despite not playing his normal allotment of minutes due to foul trouble, Landrum put up an impressive 18-point, 12-rebound line in his final high school game before heading off to Boston University. Fellow senior <strong>Logan Huston</strong> closed out his high school career with 13 points.</p> <h6>Bush and Price lead the way</h6> <p>As has been the case all year for St. Anthony, it was able to rely on its senior leaders to extend their season for at least one more game. Bush took over in the second quarter after Landrum picked up his third foul earlier in the period. The 5-foot-11 lefty scored 11 of his 15 first half points in the second stanza to help the Saints take a 32-27 lead into the break. Bush added six points and three assists in the third quarter to give the Saints a 51-39 lead heading into the fourth. While Price didn’t have his usual statistical output, it was his presence in the paint that helped get Landrum some quick fouls and his rebounding on the defensive end that sparked fast breaks and easy baskets for St. Anthony.</p> <h6>Torrey Pines couldn’t overcome Landrum foul trouble</h6> <p>Sitting courtside you could easily hear the groans from the Torrey Pines bench as Landrum was hit with a quick whistle early in the game. The 6-foot-8 senior, one of the best players in San Diego who is so important to what the Falcons do, was forced to watch from the bench as the Saints built on their lead. Landrum does a little bit of everything for Torrey from scoring inside to freeing guards and space in screen-roll action to rebounding and rim protecting, and, without him, the deterrent for St. Anthony’s paint scoring was non-existent.</p> <h6>Bright future for St. Anthony freshman</h6> <p>We’ve seen a good amount of St. Anthony games this season and each time Jaedyn Patterson does something that impresses us. The 6-footer, who has been a starter for much of the season, is a lights out shooter from three-point range and create shots for himself and teammates off the dribble. Perhaps the most impressive part of his game is how he plays with confidence and unafraid in big moments and big games. As mentioned above, Patterson had 15 important points for the Saints in their win over Torrey Pines.</p> <h6>Who is up next for Torrey Pines?</h6> <p>It seems like every season at Torrey Pines there are a couple of go-to seniors who graduate and whose rolls are then filled by the anointed next guys in line. So which junior class players are expected to be the next big things for the Falcons? You can probably start with 6-foot-4 shooting guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="994909" first="JJ" last="Bartelloni"]</strong> who boasts a smooth shooting stroke from three-point range and already has his number called on plenty of possessions. The other guy you can expect to see an increase in touches is junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="994913" first="Alex" last="Cabulio"]</strong>. The 6-foot-2 senior was more of a complimentary piece this season for the Falcons, but could emerge as a primary option along with Bartelloni.</p>