MORAGA, CA -The Las Lomas boys' basketball team got another strong performance by Nathan Robinson and Devin Payne to race past Campolindo, 79-58, on Tuesday night to clinch the Diablo Athletic League-Foothill title.
“We made a statement out there tonight,” said Las Lomas coach Brian Dietschy. “They're a team that doesn't give up, but we stayed strong throughout the whole game.”
Robinson led the Knights (23-2, 8-1 DAL-Foothill) with 21 points, with Payne adding 20.
“We just had to keep playing defense to hold down Campolindo” said Robinson. “They're a really good team and are well-coached.”
The visiting Knights started out strong as Robinson and Payne each hit a pair of running shots. The Cougars countered with a pair of two-pointers from David Ahazie and Will Cummins. Jason Holman later added two quick three-pointers for the Knights to make the score 38-24 in favor of Las Lomas at the half, and he rounded out a trio of 20-point scorers for the Knights.
Las Lomas continued their shooting spree in the third quarter as Robinson hit a pair of threes, with Homer Kravets adding a trio of two-point shots to open up a 30-point gap in the first three minutes of the second half. Holman also added a pair of three-point shots, part of his continued strong shooting effort. Campolindo responded with a pair of field goals by Trevin Kroichick and a pair of layups from Ahazie, one of which was a buzzer-beater as time expired in the third quarter to close the gap at 64-43.
The host Cougars found some light in the fourth quarter when Kyle Davis came into the game and scored a pair of three-pointers and a pair of layups to close the lead to 75-52 with four minutes to play. However, the visiting Knights iced the victory with a pair of three-point shots by Payne.
Campolindo was led by Ahazie with 14 points, with Kroichick and Davis each adding 11, and Cummins adding another 10.
On Thursday, both teams will close out the league campaign as Las Lomas hosts Acalanes, while Campolindo (16-9, 4-5 DAL-Foothill) squares off against rival Miramonte.
