LA VERNE — The Roosevelt boys basketball team is especially adept at shooting 3-pointers and forcing turnovers with a pressing defense. When the Mustangs are doing both at a high level, they are nearly impossible to beat. Roosevelt made seven 3-pointers and forced eight turnovers in the first quarter alone and went on to blow out Layton Christian Academy of Utah 86-65 Saturday night in a Platinum Division semifinal game of the The Classic at Damien. “I just felt like we came in locked in,” Roosevelt coach Stephen Singleton said. “We knew where we’re trying to get to, Monday night. We wanted to get back to that championship game. We knew size-wise we were going to be at a disadvantage. I feel like our intensity, how hard we play and the confidence our guys had (made a difference). We started hitting shots at the beginning.” Roosevelt (14-1) will play St. John Bosco for the tournament title Monday night at 8:30 at Damien High School. The game will be a rematch of last year’s title game won by Roosevelt, 68-65. Roosevelt was led Saturday by senior Issac Williamson, who scored 22 of his 34 points in the second half. He made a school-record 10 3-pointers, including three in the first quarter and four in the fourth quarter. “He’s 10 of 15 (3-pointers), so he’s not jacking up a bunch of 3s,” Singleton said of Williamson. “But he also plays so hard on the defensive end; he’s not just a shooter. That kid works on that craft every day. When he starts to feel it, you see what happens. The basket is so big.” Brayden Burries added 24 points for Roosevelt, making all nine of his free throws. Roosevelt jumped out to a 25-11 lead after a quarter which the Mustangs extended to 38-14 less than halfway through the second quarter. At that point, the Mustangs’ 3-pointers stopped falling and the Eagles (7-4) closed their deficit to 41-29 at halftime. “I told them (at halftime) we did a great job for about a quarter and a half, and then for the last four minutes of that second quarter we kind of lost our energy, we lost our intensity, we became complacent,” Singleton said. “I told our guys, ‘don’t get bored of beating people. Stay locked in, stay with the energy. Our defense led to our offense and we were able to get back on track.” The Eagles edged closer still in the early part of the third quarter, getting within 48-41 on a dunk by 6-foot-8 Omar Mowafak with 5:10 to play in the third quarter. But Layton Christian could get no closer. A 10-0 Roosevelt run late in the third quarter restored a 19-point lead. Roosevelt led by no fewer than 15 points in the fourth quarter and led by as many as 29 (85-56) in the fourth before the Eagles made up some late ground against Roosevelt’s backups. The Mustangs finished with 15 3-pointers and forced 18 turnovers. Layton Christian was led by 6-7, 250-pound senior Alan Gballou, who scored 15 points and four rebounds but had to work hard against the smaller Mustangs. “We saw him last week (in Las Vegas). We saw them here. We’ve seen a lot of them. He’s a load in there,” Singleton said. “You have to do your work early. You have to make it tough on him. You have to make it tough on the passers. I feel like our guys did a great job against him. He’s a big dude.” Roosevelt will face Layton Christian again Jan. 4 at the Nike Tournament of Champions showcase event in Mesa, Arizona. Related Articles High School Sports | Rancho Cucamonga and Valley View girls basketball teams reach Ramona Winter Classic title game High School Sports | Zahra Stewart reigns again at Queen of the Hill girls wrestling invitational High School Sports | All-Inland Girls Tennis: Yucaipa’s Olivia Lewis is the IE Varsity Player of the Year High School Sports | All-Inland Girls Golf: Diamond Bar’s Juliet Oh is the IE Varsity Golfer of the Year High School Sports | Inland soccer notes: Caleb Ikwaugwu has King High boys team off to a fast start