FOLSOM, CA - Down by eight in the third quarter, the Vista Del Lago boys' basketball team stormed back to win Saturday's CIF NorCal quarterfinal game against Campolindo, 70-66 in overtime.
“It's a very big win for our school and our community” Vista Del Lago head coach Tim Weir said. “Going into the game, the goal was to play good defense and make this a close game.”
Chris Fairchild led the Eagles with 26 points, including a two-point shot that sent the game into overtime.
“We knew [Campolindo] was a good team” Fairchild said. “When we were down, we didn't let that hold us back.”
In the final quarter, Vista Del Lago stormed back from a 57-45 deficit with a three-pointer from Dahlton Dugger, and a pair of layups from William Fitzpatrick. Campolindo countered with a pair of layups from Chris Wright and a two-pointer from Trevin Kroichick, but the Eagles' Fairchild hit the game-tying shot with three seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime.
In the overtime period, Luke Avdalovic sealed the victory for Vista Del Lago by shooting a pair of free-throws with 2.9 seconds left.
The Cougars came out of the locker room down by one point and surged through the third quarter. Hunter Clarke and Will Cummins made five three-point shots and Kroichick and Chris Wright each had a pair of two-point shots. Vista Del Lago would countered with a three-pointer from Arjun Rama and a trio of layups from Fairchild, making the score 57-45 Campolindo to start the fourth quarter.
Campolindo was led by Clarke with 17 points and Carter Mahaney with 12 points.
Campolindo (20-11) finishes with its season as DAL-Foothill Division runner-ups and NCS Division III runner-ups. Vista Del Lago (25-8) continues its season when it hosts Vanden (29-3) in the CIF NorCal Division 3 semifinals. This will be the Eagles first appearance in the CIF NorCal semifinal round. “We are excited to be making school history this season” said Fairchild.
