WALNUT CREEK - After a back-and-forth first half, Las Lomas was able to pull away late and defeat Franklin-Elk Grove, 65-58, in the first round of the CIF NorCal Division I boys basketball championships.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Knights (28-3) slowly began to pull away from the Wildcats (20-10), outscoring them 21-19. Although Franklin continued to score under the basket, they could not keep up with Las Lomas shooting 40% (18 total points) in the second half from beyond the arc.
“We played good defense, hit the glass and shot well today,” said Las Lomas junior Blake Thorpe.
Most of the first half was being played in the paint. Early in the first quarter, the Wildcats were winning the match-ups down low with Dillon Iyawe and and Leyland Eustacio. However, by the end of the first quarter, Franklin was only up 15-13.
“We tried to get in front of them and just tried to slow them down,” explained Thorpe. In the second quarter Devin Payne of Las Lomas shot nearly 83% and scored 17 of his game-high 23 points to help the Knights go into the half leading by six.
Las Lomas led the for the remainder of the game in the second half. The Wildcats were able to get within one point on two separate occasions in the third quarter but were unable to take back the lead. At the end of the third quarter, the score was 44-40. Throughout the fourth, both teams were exchanging baskets. Although Franklin was only outscored by two points in the fourth quarter, they were unable to capitalize on Las Lomas turnovers and missed some critical shots.
“Tonight they were the better team. They hit shots. The’re a 28-win team now for a reason. They play really good basketball,” said Franklin head coach Ken Manfredi.
After Wednesday night's win, Las Lomas goes on to prepare for their next CIF matchup. Nate Robinson added 18 points for the Knights, while Eustacio led Franklin with 18 points, while Iyawe added 16 points.
“They were a tough team. They just kept coming and coming. We knew there was no quit in them. We moved the ball, found gaps in their zone, and hit some big threes,” said Las Lomas head coach Brian Dietschy.
Las Lomas will face seven seed Dublin in Saturday's quarterfinals, in a game which promises to be high-scoring and entertaining, featuring some of the top players from around the North Coast Section.