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Long Island Lutheran (N.Y.) wins nationally-ranked battle over Columbus (Fla.) at Jordan Holiday Classic

hunterby:Hunter Shelton•12/28/24•

HunterShelton_

Syndication: The News-Press
Nigel James of Long Island Lutheran drives past LaBaron Philon of Link Academy in the City of Palms Classic on Friday, Dec. 22, 2023 at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers.

The high school basketball game of the day took place in New York on Saturday evening as Long Island Lutheran (N.Y.) and Columbus (Fla.) threw down at the Jordan Holiday Classic.

Despite once again being without star guard Kiyan Anthony, No. 12 Lutheran came back from a double-digit halftime deficit to pull out its biggest win of the season, besting the No. 6 Explorers 77-66.

Penn State senior four-star combo guard signee Kayden Mingo and his brother, junior four-star point guard Dylan Mingo, were both terrific in the win. Kayden led all scorers with 25 points on 9-14 shooting while also adding four rebounds and three assists. Dylan dropped 20 points, seven boards and a pair of assists.

Marquette four-star point guard signee Nigel James was instrumental in the win, too, as he acquired 18 points, a team-high seven assists and four rebounds. The Crusaders won the rebound battle 28-21, as well as the battle in the paint, scoring 40 to Columbus’ 30 under the basket.

Columbus star power forward and Duke Five-Star Plus+ signee Cameron Boozer was held to just 12 points, though he also notched seven rebounds and six assists. Junior four-star SF Caleb Gaskins led the Explorers with 21 points, while Jaxon Richardson added 17 points and five rebounds. Duke four-star PG signee Cayden Boozer collected a game-high 10 assists to go with 13 points and four boards.

The shooting statistics finished just about even, though Lutheran took advantage of 13 Columbus turnovers, turning them into 16 points. Columbus forced 10 TOs of its own but were only able to turn those into a pair of baskets.

With the win, Lutheran now has seven victories on the year — with Saturday night’s easily being the biggest. The Crusaders lost their first game in the City of Palms Classic last week to Owasso (Okla.) before winning a pair of consolation games.

They’ll look to get Anthony, the son of NBA great Carmelo Anthony, back to the hardwood soon. The Syracuse legacy signee is the No. 1 player in New York and a top-40 recruit nationally.

Columbus is now 13-2 this season, having faced a rigorous schedule to this point. The Explorers are slated to return to action on Sunday to round out the Jordan Holiday Classic against Link Academy (Mo.).

The On3 Composite High School Basketball Team Ranking is a proprietary algorithm that compiles rankings listed in the public domain by respected High School media and data companies. It includes Massey, Max Preps, ESPN and SI, creating the industry’s most comprehensive and geographically balanced High School Team Ranking.