Roosevelt (Calif.) defeats St. John Bosco (Calif.) in overtime to repeat as Classic at Damien champions

For the second year in a row, Roosevelt (Calif.) High has won the Classic at Damien Platinum Division title.

In a high-powered, top-10 national clash, the No. 7 Mustangs managed to outlast No. 2 St. John Bosco 56-55 in overtime on Monday night in Southern California. It’s the second year in a row that Roosevelt has defeated the Braves to win the top division of the holiday tournament.

Star combo guard Brayden Burries was once again the catalyst for the Mustangs, leading the charge with 24 points, eight of which came in overtime. The elite 6-foot-4 prospect is the nation’s No. 1 CG and No. 12 overall prospect.

St. John Bosco was without superstar junior point guard Brandon McCoy, the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2026 cycle. Junior four-star small forward Christian Collins kept the Braves close with 20 points. Senior guard Chris Komin added 17.

Defense was the star of the show in the first half, as Roosevelt entered the locker room with a 17-15 lead. Roosevelt used a big run early in the fourth quarter to build a small lead. Bosco’s Collins hit a floater to send the game into overtime.

Burries made five free throws in overtime and also took a charge that helped solidify things for the Mustangs. The No. 2 player in California is averaging over 30 points per game so far this season.

With the win, Roosevelt improved to 15-1 on the season. The Mustangs have presented one of the nation’s top offenses so far this season, though their defense sure looked the part on Monday night, picking up their biggest win of the young campaign.

The overtime loss was Bosco’s first of the year. The Braves are 14-1 and have already racked up a slew of wins over top in-state competition. The updated On3 Composite Rankings tabbed Bosco as the nation’s No. 2 team on Tuesday. Roosevelt moved up to No. 7 and is in line to make another move toward the top.

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.

More about The Classic at Damien

A brief history on The Classic at Damien from the tournament website:

“In December of 1981, the inaugural ‘Damien Cage Classic’ first took place.   At the time Ray Plutko, then Commissioner of the CIF was a part of the Damien Booster Club, as three of his sons played basketball and are alumni here at Damien.  He had the idea to start a basketball tournament and Ray served as the original tournament director.  At the time Coach Mike LeDuc was in his 3rd year as Head Basketball Coach here at Damien.”

“In January of 2016, the idea floated around to resurrect the original tournament.  The idea was to create an opportunity for quality teams to compete against quality opponents in a first class setting that was affordable to the schools without the need to travel overnight.  A group of basketball enthusiasts met and a committee was formed and met regularly to organize and plan this event.  In trying to keep a little of the history and also recognizing that it has been 35 years since its beginning, the tournament was renamed ‘The Classic at Damien” with a 48 team, 3 division format.”