CONCORD – The Open Division of the California high school basketball playoffs is reserved for the creme of the crop, the best of the best. To that end, De La Salle already knew where it stood.
But Saturday night, the Spartans went a step further.
They turned up the heat down the stretch in a tightly contested semifinal, prevailing over visiting Folsom 47-38 even with their best player, Oklahoma-bound Alec Blair, playing on one healthy foot after badly injuring his right ankle a week earlier.
But Blair isn’t a star for no reason.
With second-seeded De La Salle leading by a point with two minutes to go and the jam-packed home crowd roaring for a big moment, Blair delivered, as he has so many times in his high school career.
Dribbling with a defender on him, he unleashed a step-back shot from beyond the 3-point arc and then watched it sail.
It hit nothing but net.
Mind you, this is the same guy who shot two airballs from the free-throw line earlier in the game because he couldn’t get enough spring in his legs. But at the game’s most important moment, with third-seeded Folsom still very much alive, Blair hit the jack pot or, as he put it, “money.”
“You kind of knew it was going to go in,” De La Salle coach Marcus Schroeder said. “Sure enough, it went in. That’s just players stepping up. The moment’s never too big for him.”
The moment certainly wasn’t too big for De La Salle’s team. The Spartans (28-4) led the entire way except for two moments in the fourth quarter, when the visitors went ahead 36-35 on a bucket by 6-9 Siyahe Siaisiai with 3:51 left and 38-37 on a drive to the hoop by football star Ryder Lyons with 3:01 to go.
Both times, De La Salle quickly responded.
Soon after, the game was over.
The Spartans put away the visitors with a 10-0 closing run, highlighted by Blair’s huge 3-pointer and textbook defense. Blair led De La Salle with 14 points and four rebounds. David Balogun added 12 points and Braddock Kjellesvig finished with 10 points and six boards.
Blair didn’t practice all week but knew he would play.
He emerged from the locker room 35 minutes before tip-off, fist-pumped teammates who were sitting on the bench and school officials at the scorer’s table, then began putting up some shots.
“I was hurting pretty badly,” Blair said after the game. “I was playing on one foot tonight. I think it was obvious with some of my free throws. I had zero lift. But I give all the glory to God. He helped me push through. I was sitting there that last four minutes, I looked at the clock and said, ‘It’s time.’”
For Schroeder and Blair, the game marked an opportunity to take the Spartans beyond the NorCal Open Division semifinal round for the first time since the coach and star player arrived at the Concord school four seasons ago.
Top-seeded Archbishop Riordan, a 64-37 winner over Salesian on Saturday, awaits in the final. The regional championship game will played Tuesday night at Riordan.
De La Salle will bring a hot streak across the Bay Bridge.
The Spartans found the peak of their powers in the season’s final weeks, bouncing back from a humbling blowout loss at California with determination in their play and fire in their eyes.
DLS beat Dublin, San Ramon Valley and Dougherty Valley – the latter two in dominant fashion – to capture the East Bay Athletic League championship.
Then the Spartans shook off losses in the previous three North Coast Section Open Division finals, overpowering defending champion Salesian to win the section’s top division for the first time since the classification was added in 2020.
But the hangover from the epic NCS victory was Blair’s status.
Would the star player be ready for Folsom one week after suffering badly sprained right ankle in the third quarter of the Salesian game?
Adding to the tension for DLS was the opponent hailing from the edge of the Sierra foothills.
Folsom is no stranger to success under its longtime coach, Mike Wall, and was coming off an impressive victory in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I final over regional powerhouse Modesto Christian, which was bidding for its fourth consecutive title in the section’s top division.
But it wasn’t just that result that sparkled on Folsom’s resume.
In December, the Bulldogs hammered one of California’s legendary programs, Mater Dei-Santa Ana, by a mindblowing 87-46 score, finishing that game with 19 baskets from beyond the 3-point arc.
Saturday’s game also came on the anniversary of one of Folsom’s most memorable playoff victories. On March 8, 2018, the Bulldogs traveled to the East Bay for a NorCal Open Division opener and shocked top-seeded and state No. 1 Salesian 57-52.
This time, the Bay Area team prevailed.
“It’s obviously exciting,” Kjellesvig said. “We’ve worked so hard for this. It’s nice knowing that the work has kind of paid off.”
Next stop for DLS: The NorCal final.