St. Anthony vs. Bishop Amat: Five Takeaways
St. Anthony of Long Beach needed overtime to beat Bishop Amat of La Puente, 77-71, Wednesday night in a Camino Real League showdown.
The Saints were led by senior point guard Cacoa Chatman who led all scorers with 19 points, while junior Marquise Nelloms added 13 and senior guard Noah Nickel pitched in 12 with a number of clutch plays. Bishop Amat sophomore Damian Moore paced the Lancers with 16.
St. Anthony improved to 17-2 overall and 3-0 in league, while Amat fell to 16-4 and 2-1 in league.
Here are five takeaways from Jack Errion Gym.
Five Takeaways
Saints are a serious threat in 3AA
The most recent CIF-SS 3AA poll has St. Anthony sitting at No. 1 and rightfully so. Coach Allen Caveness has a deep roster full of talented players with good basketball IQ’s. One of the most impressive parts of this St. Anthony team is its conditioning and ability to apply pressure defense and create turnovers for all 32 minutes of every game. The Saints have a nice mix of youth and experience, guard play and bigs, and most importantly, St. Anthony has depth. The Saints biggest challengers in their division right now are Saddleback Valley Christian, Laguna Beach, Long Beach Wilson and Ocean View.
Bishop Amat could make some noise in 3A
This was our first time seeing the Lancers this season and we came away very impressed. Bishop Amat is 16-4 on the season for a reason — they play hard, disciplined and can shoot the lights out from 3-point range. The Lancers road to a Division 3A championship might be more difficult than what St. Anthony has to deal with in 3AA as teams like Riverside Notre Dame and Culver City loom at some point for the Lancers. Bishop Amat sits at No. 3 in the most recent CIF-SS 3A poll.
St. Anthony junior Marquise Nelloms showed nice touch from 3-point range against Bishop Amat.Staine and Nelloms showing progress
Frank Staine and Marquise Nelloms are both talented junior prospects with a ton of upside and each displayed improved aspects of their games Wednesday. For Staine, the 6-foot-5 forward made sure to expose his size and strength advantage in the paint. Staine worked both the offensive and defensive glass, limiting the opponent to one shot and giving his team second chance opportunities and he displayed nice touch on a baby hook shot in the key. Nelloms, a 6-foot-6 forward, showed improved touch from deep, connecting on a number of pick-and-pop 3-pointers. He was also very active on the glass on both ends of the floor.
Chatman is an underrated senior
St. Anthony would’ve been lost against Amat if it weren’t for the on-court leadership of Cacoa Chatman. The 5-foot-10 senior controlled the pace well, understanding when to attack and when to pull the ball out and run offense. Chatman was the catalyst on the defensive end, coming away with a handful of steals that led to easy transition buckets. He also knocked down four 3-pointers en route to his game-high 19 points.
Moore is one to track
Bishop Amat’s Damian Moore should be on the next level radar in the sophomore class. The 6-foot-2 point guard has a good feel for the game and is best when attacking the rack in transition. He has a go-to downhill spin move which he finishes off with a crafty layup package. The next step for Moore is to extend his range to the 3-point line.