SOUTHERN SECTION BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS : Bellflower St. John Bosco Wins II-A Title

Jelani Gardner, a 6-foot-6 senior point guard, scored 12 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter to carry No. 6-ranked Bellflower St. John Bosco to a 55-54 victory over No. 3 Compton Dominguez High in the Southern Section Division II-A championship Saturday at Anaheim Arena.

“We tried to throw everything at him we could and get the ball out of his hands,” Dominguez Coach Russell Otis said.

Leading 53-51, St. John Bosco (28-2) got possession after a steal by Gardner with 24 seconds left. Gardner was fouled with 10 seconds to play, and he hit two free throws to culminate a 7-0 run that made it 55-51. Jaimie Gillin of Dominguez hit a three-pointer at the buzzer.

Their 17th consecutive victory gave the Braves their first section title. The loss ended a 17-game winning streak by Dominguez (27-3), which has now lost two title games in a row.

The Dons hit two of six free throws; the Braves 11 of 15.

In the Division I-AA boys’ game:

Long Beach Poly 71, La Crescenta Crescenta Valley 60--The Jackrabbits (25-6) outscored Crescenta Valley, 30-13, in the third quarter to cruise to their 14th section title, at the Anaheim Arena.

In the Division II-AA boys’ game:

Inglewood 77, No. 5 Riverside North 59--Paul Pierce scored 22 points, including the first seven points of the game to give the Sentinels (28-3) a lead they never relinquished, at the Anaheim Arena.

In the Division V-AA boys’ game:

North Hollywood Campbell Hall 46, Pasadena Poly 43--Alex Lopez scored 19 points and had six blocked shots at Pepperdine as Campbell Hall (21-8) won for the second time in three years.

In the Division I-AA girls’ game:

Lynwood 53, Palos Verdes Peninsula 46--Tawana Grimes scored five consecutive points in the final two minutes to spark Lynwood (29-1), which had blown a 15-point lead to trail by one point.

In the Division II-A girls’ game:

Mission Hills Alemany 59, San Bernardino 46--Alemany remained unbeaten in 28 games, but had to weather a 26-point second-half outburst by San Bernardino’s LaTonya Kindle, at Cal Poly Pomona.

In the Division V-A girls’ game:

Cerritos Valley Christian 79, Sun Valley Village Christian 64--Lady Crusader center Jodi Parriott scored a game-high 45 points to lead Valley Christian.