Boozer-Richardson combo propels Columbus to season-opening win over California powerhouse
Most teams don’t play with championship intensity or resilience in their first game of the season.
But most teams aren’t built like the Columbus basketball team.
Opening night drew a capacity crowd of over 600 to the Explorers gym.
It also drew ESPN cameras with a nationally-televised matchup against California powerhouse Prolific Prep.
And it also nearly saw the Explorers, who entered the season ranked No. 1 in the nation by MaxPreps, start the 2023-24 campaign with a defeat.
That changed when one of the newest additions to Columbus’ roster, senior guard Jase Richardson buried a three-pointer as time expired to send the game into overtime. Richardson would proceed to score six of the Explorers’ nine points in the extra period and help propel them to a 81-78 comeback win over Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) on Wednesday night.
“This team pulled out a lot of heart and a lot of pride in those final minutes,” said Richardson, a Michigan State signee, who finished with 19 points. “These guys never gave up on each other and the coaches didn’t give up on us and we got the win.”
Richardson and his younger brother, Jaxson, a sophomore, whose father is former NBA guard Jason Richardson, transferred to Columbus (1-0) from Las Vegas Bishop Gorman during the offseason. Their arrival bolstered an already loaded roster and gave the Explorers a second pair of siblings that are sons of a former NBA player, joining Cameron and Cayden Boozer, whose father is Carlos Boozer.
On Wednesday, two of the four complemented each other perfectly on the court to rescue Columbus, which trailed 67-58 with under two minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Following a three-pointer by Malik Abdullahi (17 points), Cayden Boozer scored eight consecutive points including a fall-away three-pointer with 8.1 seconds left that cut the deficit to 70-69. Boozer led the Explorers with 25 points.
After Prolific Prep’s Winters Grady hit a pair of free throws with 5.5 seconds left, Richardson pushed the ball up the court and pulled up just in front of the 3-point line at the top of the key and banked it home at the buzzer.
“We just had to stay together because when we do we’re one of the best teams in the country,” Boozer said. “We just had to get the win and we can’t lose at home. That’s all we were thinking.
(The Richardson’s) are great kids and great teammates. Everyone knows what the goal is and everyone has bought into that.”
Prolific Prep (6-1), which in some polls is ranked in the top five nationally, features a deep roster of six major Division-I prospects. The Explorers trailed 23-10 two minutes into the second quarter before Cameron Boozer scored five consecutive points to spark a 24-4 surge.
The game was featured as a matchup between Prolific Prep’s 6-9 junior forward AJ Dybantsa, who reclassified this past year and is ranked the top prospect in the Class of 2025, and Boozer, who is ranked No. 2 overall among 2025 prospects.
The two stars met during the fall season in October when the teams played in the Border League. Boozer outperformed Dybantsa that day finishing with 25 points, 16 rebounds and five assists while the latter had only six points and seven rebounds and struggled from the field.
On Wednesday night, in front of several college coaches including the University of Miami’s Jim Larranaga and the University of Kentucky’s John Calipari, Dybantsa turned the tables - at least on the stat sheet - with a 35-point effort that was nearly enough for his team to prevail.
Cameron Boozer finished with only 13 points and fouled out with 55.4 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
But Boozer continually encouraged his teammates from the bench and watched them persevere during the closing moments.
“We didn’t play great most of the game,” Columbus coach Andrew Moran said. “We had moments we executed, but a lot of moments where we didn’t. But I’m proud of the guys. They kept fighting. I think when you just keep working and fighting, crazy things happen.”
Columbus is aiming to win its third consecutive state title. But its lofty national ranking and bolstered roster that also includes Palmetto transfer Randy Smith and Belen Jesuit transfer Bryce Fitzgerald, who is expected to join the team after football season.
The Explorers’ challenging schedule should keep them in the mix should they continue to win. Columbus next travels to a tournament in Atlanta where it will face more nationally-ranked foes like McEachern and Wasatch from Georgia. The Explorers then head to Orlando to open the month of December with a game at perennial powerhouse Montverde Academy.“This part of the season is rough, but really there’s no game off for us,” Moran said. “A win like this is big for us and for the guys that haven’t been here to believe what we’re telling them. To see it happen, it goes a long way. When you win, the confidence level just continues to increase and that’s what we want.”
