Bryant finished with 39 points and 11 rebounds to help Corona Centennial knock off rival Eastvale Roosevelt 82-78 in a standing-room only gym that also included Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd, who made the trip to watch Bryant, his future Wildcat.
“Man, all year we’ve been talking about what he is capable of,” Centennial coach Josh Giles said. “I’m so proud of what he did because of the expectations.”
Another huge contributor for the Huskies (15-7) was sophomore guard Tariq Iscandari. There was a game last month he played only four seconds before being removed. Giles told him what he needed to do to get more playing time. Iscandari made three threes and scored 20 points. Eric Freeny had 14 rebounds and contributed three assists in the second half that led to two threes and a layup.
Roosevelt (18-2) received 22 points from Darnez Slater. The Mustangs fell behind by 12 points in the fourth quarter before closing to within 80-78 with 7.4 left. Bryant was fouled and made both free throws. He had six threes on the night and took advantage of his size to go inside in the fourth quarter.
It was the Big VIII League opener. Both teams are heavily favored to meet later in the championship game of the first Big VIII League tournament. Roosevelt would host.
Mater Dei 92, Servite 49: Luke Barnett scored 19 points and Brannon Martinsen 17 for Mater Dei (18-1).
St. John Bosco 51, Santa Margarita 45: Jack Turner scored 16 points for St. John Bosco.
Windward 80, Crossroads 60: JJ Harris scored 27 points and had 13 rebounds and Gavin Hightower had 13 assists for Windward (16-3).
Campbell Hall 69, Brentwood 58: Isaiah Johnson scored 22 points for Campbell Hall. Hayden Lichtenstein led Brentwood with 16 points.
Etiwanda 71, Rancho Cucamonga 70: The Eagles won in overtime. Amare Campbell finished with 20 points. Aaron Glass had 21 points for Rancho Cucamonga.
Price 55, Shalhevet 50: Price rallied from a 22-point deficit. Keshrey Smith scored 18 points.
Heritage Christian 72, Village Christian 61: Tae Simmons had 27 points and Dillon Shaw 20 points for Heritage Christian.
West Ranch 73, Golden Valley 36: Tracy Bryden finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks for West Ranch.
Saugus 75, Castaic 57: Justin Perez scored 28 points for Saugus.
St. Bonaventure 62, Dunn 51: Dylan Benner had 25 points for St. Bonaventure.
Damien 58, Chino Hills 52: Nate Garcia finished with 28 points in the Baseline League victory.
Pasadena 65, Crescenta Valley 57: Vaughn Zargarian had 23 points for Crescenta Valley.
Girls’ basketball
Sierra Canyon 90, Bishop Alemany 33: Mackenly Randolph had 28 points, Izela Arenas 19 and Jerzy Robinson 17 for Sierra Canyon.
Hart 56, Canyon 47: Morgan Mack scored 22 points and had eight assists for Hart.
Mater Dei 70, Rosary 55: Jenessa Cotton and Devyn Kiernan each had 16 points for Mater Dei.