The walls were beginning to close in on the Roosevelt boys basketball team late Tuesday night. The 13-point lead the Mustangs held when the fourth quarter started had been trimmed to a single point with 3 1/2 minutes remaining on the clock.

Brayden Burries sank the decisive free throws with 12.2 seconds remaining, and the Mustangs got a defensive stop at the other end to hold on for victory.

It was a non-conference boys’ basketball matchup between former Downriver League rival schools Friday night as Melvindale welcomed in Wyandotte Roosevelt to the Cardinal Dome. Friday was the first meeting between the two programs since the 2018-19 school year, which was the last time Melvindale was a member of the DRL.

Putting his team on his back, Brayden Burries made sure St. John Bosco was not going to be a roadblock to Eastvale Roosevelt making it to the Southern Section Open Division championship basketball game.

The Roosevelt boys basketball team’s road to a second straight appearance in the CIF Southern Section Open Division championship game has been filled with obstacles. The Mustangs have navigated their way past three of those roadblocks,