CONCORD, Calif. – A steady diet of three-pointers and enough work on the interior was a winning recipe for De La Salle on Friday night to defeat Las Lomas 67-45 and advance to the championship game of the Chris Vontoure Spartan Classic.
Cade Arbogast struck five times from downtown – at least once each quarter – and finished with 17. Fellow senior Tim Kostolansky added 15 points, and Andrew Flannigan, Thomas Gregorios, and Jeremiah Dargan chipped in nine each for De La Salle (4-0).
“We have a very well-balanced team,” De La Salle coach Justin Argenal commented. “We have shooters, and we also have good size and can go inside as well. Tonight was one of those nights where if they’re sagging in the paint, or helping too much, it will free up our shooters on the outside, and tonight we were able to capitalize on that.
When Las Lomas (2-1) trailed 7-5 with 4:45 remaining in the first, that would be the closest the Knights would get to slaying the Spartans, who are currently ranked 15th in the state by MaxPreps. While Blake Thorpe and Niko Kieffer did their best to keep Las Lomas’ hopes alive, scoring 13 each, De La Salle’s attack was just too diversified and too consistent for the Knights to do anything about it.
After J.T. Estes sank a three-pointer early in the third quarter to make it 50-39, Kostolansky responded with a crowd-rousing dunk, sparking an 11-0 run that effectively put the game away.
“We struggled dealing with De La Salle,” Las Lomas coach Jason Rockwell said afterwards. “(They’re) pretty good at taking whatever the game gives them, and today the game gave them some opportunities, and they were able to maximize those opportunities. They had a lot of confidence going in.”
The Spartans hit 10 three-pointers in all, twice that of Las Lomas. Gregorios, the point guard, added six rebounds and five assists to his total, and Dargan – a 6’4” freshman – collected six boards.
De La Salle will take on Crespi, a SoCal team from Encino that defeated Serra in the late game, in the championship on Saturday afternoon. The Spartans had doubled up Marin Catholic 65-32 on Thursday while Las Lomas clipped Fairfield 63-60.
The Knights have challenges ahead, having lost several key seniors from last year’s NorCal Champion squad and with their coach Brian Dietschy stepping down to spend more time with his family. But Argenal, who knows Rockwell when he was part of the Spartan coaching staff a few years ago, was quick to give Las Lomas’ new coach a vote of confidence.
“He’s doing a great job over there,” Argenal stated. “They play hard, they compete. With that leadership, they’re a very solid team.”