Prep Basketball Playoffs / THIRD ROUND : DIVISION II-A : Trabuco Hills Can’t Keep Up

Bellflower St. John Bosco’s one-two scoring punch of forward James Cotton and guard Jelani Gardner was too much for Trabuco Hills to handle Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Southern Section Division II-A playoffs.

Cotton, combining quickness with strength, scored 25 points and Gardner consistently swished long outside jump shots with little effort and controlled the tempo in St. John Bosco’s 69-64 victory at El Toro High School.

St. John Bosco (25-2), which is seeded second in the division, will meet Pasadena Muir in the semifinals Tuesday night at a site to be determined today. Muir advanced with a 107-83 victory over Hacienda Heights Wilson.

Gardner, a junior transfer from La Puente Bishop Amat, made the big plays whenever Trabuco Hills (22-7) threatened to come back. Gardner hit a big three-point shot with seven seconds remaining in the first half to push St. John Bosco ahead, 39-31.

He opened the third quarter with another three-pointer to pad the lead to 42-31, and Trabuco Hills was forced to play catch-up the rest of the half.

“Those two shots were the difference in the game,” said Trabuco Hills Coach Rainer Wulf. “Take away those two shots and it’s a whole different ballgame. Gardner is a big-time player. He’s ranked as one of the top five junior guards in the country, and I don’t doubt it for a minute.”

Cotton, a transfer from Artesia, led all scorers with 25 points. He continually gave Trabuco Hills center Matt Moore and forward Pat Barnes fits inside, generally going around either defender for high-percentage shots.

“He’s so darn strong inside that very few players have been able to defend him one-on-one,” said St. John Bosco Coach Brian Breslin.

Cotton scored 15 of his 25 points in the first half and then let Gardner take control in the second half.

“I thought we as a team could outdo those two players,” Wulf said. “But they’re both very good athletes who obviously know how to play the game.”

Still, Trabuco Hills managed to make a nice run at St. John Bosco after falling behind, 57-47, with 7:45 remaining to play after Brave reserve Marco Lopez scored.

Moore, who appeared intimidated most of the game, came to life in the fourth quarter. He scored eight of his 19 points during the comeback that saw the Mustangs twice trim St. John Bosco’s lead to four points.

Trabuco Hills managed to get to within three points, 67-64, when Ryan Karnoff made a three-point shot with seven seconds remaining, but Gardner answered with two free throws three seconds later to seal the victory.

Afterward, Breslin was asked if his team was capable of winning the division championship. He didn’t hesitate to answer.

“We have two very fine players,” he said. “Gardner is capable of controlling any game. He’s so tough to stop one-on-one. And when Eddie Ramirez is hitting the three-pointers like he did tonight, we’re tough to stop.

“But this division is as tough as any in the CIF (Southern Section). We’re capable of winning it, but so are three or four other teams.”