Stewart Helps Burn St. Francis After Misfire

WEST HILLS — There’s nothing like missing a breakaway dunk to motivate a basketball player.

Just ask Justin Stewart of Chaminade High.

The 6-foot-2 junior forward bricked a slam attempt early in the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s Mission League game against St. Francis, but he made up for it by scoring seven of the Eagles’ final 16 points in a 61-53 victory.

“I jumped too early and the ball slipped out of my hand,” Stewart said of his miscue. “I knew I had to shake it off, but I also knew I had to redeem myself.”

Stewart did, finishing with 24 points, 14 rebounds and five steals.

First, he made one of two free throws after rebounding a miss by teammate Cayce Cook to give Chaminade (14-5, 5-1 in league play) a 46-35 lead with 5:04 left in the game. Then he scored on a inbounds pass from Rob Tanouye to give the Eagles a 51-38 advantage with 3:28 left.

He put back a missed shot by Scott Long to give Chaminade a 53-40 lead with 2:42 left before hitting two free throws with 1:03 remaining to extend the Eagles’ advantage to 59-44.

“I always look to rebound,” he said. “I look to rebound first and then score if the opportunity is there. I watch Dennis Rodman a lot and try to act like him on the court.”

At least in the rebounding department.

Stewart, a starting shooting guard for Chaminade as a freshman and sophomore, acts nothing like Rodman when it comes to dealing with referees. He doesn’t head-butt them and he even raised his hand in acknowledgment after committing a foul Saturday.

Long scored 13 points for Chaminade, the No. 10-ranked team in The Times’ regional poll. The Eagles are one game behind top-ranked Harvard-Westlake midway through the Mission League schedule.

Richard Fields, who had 10 points for St. Francis (12-8, 3-3), hit two three-pointers in the last 20 seconds.

The Golden Knights made only 20 of 51 shots, and starters T.J. Johnson and Anton Cunningham fouled out in the final minutes.

“They didn’t shoot well tonight,” third-year Chaminade Coach Jeff Young said. “And that kind of played into our hands.”