TRENTON, N.J. ? Off the court, LeBron James spoke with undisguised cynicism, the scars of the past week evident, and his words resonated with the inner city kids who shared, in their own way, his sense of struggle.

On the court, he played with unfettered fury.

James came back from his suspension with a dazzling, career-high 52-point show Saturday night, reaffirming his credentials as the best high school player in the country and leading No. 1 Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary to a 78-52 romp over No. 7 Westchester of Los Angeles.

After missing one game for accepting a pair of free high-priced jerseys, James didn’t score for nearly three minutes at the start. Then he didn’t stop.

He scored 18 points in a row for the Irish to end the first quarter — his last basket a running 35-footer banked at the buzzer, his body perfectly square to the hoop after three dribbles up the court.

He had 31 points by halftime and 47 after three quarters, hitting all manner of three-pointers and rim-rattling dunks off steals and alley-oop passes.

When he came out of the game with 2:30 left, having outscored the entire Westchester team at that point, he raised his arms to the sellout crowd of 8,500 and the fans responded with “we are not worthy” bows.

“This court, this basketball court, is like my house,” said the 6-foot-8 James, sporting an NBA logo headband as he surpassed the high of 50 he had earlier this season against Mentor of suburban Cleveland. “I think missing a game last week gave me a little more motivation.

“I told my teammates before I even got on the court I felt tonight was going to be my night.”

If James wanted to prove a point that he could overcome adversity and keep his head in the game, he did.

“The last four years, we’ve done so much for our community in Akron, Ohio, and for the state of Ohio, I can’t even count how much,” he said. “As soon as one bad thing happened to me … they bring us all up under. They’ll never remember the good things, just the bad things. You can’t let them bring you down. Just stay strong.”

Applause filled the classroom where the 18-year-old James sat among his teammates and about 30 young men and women building houses and rebuilding lives damaged by drugs or guns or desperation.

They were of two worlds and yet the same world — the future NBA top draft choice who will make millions, and these students aged 17 to 23 at YouthBuild who are learning skills and working toward a high school diploma.

“I’m from the ‘hood,” he told them as they sat together at desks in the old brick warehouse that YouthBuild had turned into a classroom, a tool shop and a hope for the future. “I grew up in the projects, just like most of y’all.”

The Isles Prime Time Shootout where James performed is a charity event featuring 11 of the top 25 high school teams that benefits YouthBuild and other community efforts. James almost missed the tournament, but a judge cut his season suspended by the Ohio High School Athletic Association — four days after the association cleared him of wrongdoing in his mother’s gift of a $50,000 Hummer H2 sports utility vehicle for his 18th birthday.