Prep basketball: Alec Blair’s last-second block lifts De La Salle over Granada
LIVERMORE — As time was about to expire Tuesday night in another East Bay Athletic League thriller, De La Salle’s Alec Blair stood tall to make sure there would be no overtime.
The 6-foot-5 do-it-all sophomore swatted Tyler Harris’ last-second shot near the basket that could have evened the score, securing a 59-57 victory over Granada that kept the Spartans rolling along in the Bay Area’s strongest league.
Friday, it was Blair’s last-second shot that beat Dublin.
Granada (16-5, 3-2) had made a late charge, nearly coming all the way back from 10 points behind with five minutes to go.
But it wasn’t to be for the home team as De La Salle (18-4, 5-1) won its fifth consecutive game — four in the league — to stay on the heels of first-place Dougherty Valley.
Blair, as usual, was a difference-maker on both sides of the court.
“He makes big plays,” De La Salle coach Marcus Schroeder said. “He’s a really good player, and he’s also got a knack for the dramatic. I just think about what he’s done in his career already. A lot of go-ahead baskets. He’s hit buzzer-beaters at the end of the third quarter, fourth quarter, and he’s made great defensive plays.”
De La Salle seemed to have the game under control when Blair, who finished with 13 points, drove for a basket that stretched the lead to 50-40 with 5:18 to play.
The Spartans had gotten Andrew McKeever — Granada’s 6-11, St. Mary’s-bound center — into foul trouble and quieted the crowd.
But Granada, ranked eighth by the Bay Area News Group, chipped away down the stretch.
The Matadors closed to within 56-53 on McKeever’s putback with 22.2 seconds left and 58-55 on another basket by McKeever with 15.1 seconds to go.
With a chance for a three-point play, McKeever missed the free throw. But Harris swooped in for the rebound and basket to make it 58-57.
The home team’s student section was roaring again.
Granada fouled Arshawn Salkhi with 6.2 seconds remaining, sending the junior to the line. He missed the first free throw and made the second.
The inbounds pass went to Harris, a Salesian transfer coming off a 25-point game against California on Friday.
Harris dribbled across midcourt and was picked up defensively by Blair. The Granada standout drove to the left of the lane, with Blair staying with him in stride.
When Harris went up for the shot, Blair’s outstretched right hand knocked the ball away.
“He had kind of had a few on me,” Blair said. “That last possession, I was a little tired, but I saved up my energy just for that. I was just sitting on it. I knew he was going to go up, and I was going to time it and block it.”
The finish | Alec Blair with a block at the buzzer. De La Salle holds off Granada 59-57 | @dlsathletics @joseph_dycus @leftwich @Jesus_Cano88 pic.twitter.com/m9S4DBCDhu
— Darren Sabedra (@DarrenSabedra) January 25, 2023
McKeever had faith in Harris.
“I trust Tyler taking that shot every day,” he said. “Alec made a good play. He’s a good player. But I’ll take Tyler taking that shot all day. It’s just part of the game.”
Billy Haggerty led the second-ranked Spartans with 19 points, 11 in the second half. Evan Wells finished with 10 and 6-6 power forward Johnny Cerruti added eight off the bench, plus whatever he could with his lunchbox and hardhat trying to defend McKeever.
“I knew my role coming in, just do my job, you know,” Cerruti said. “I trust my brothers on the court.”
McKeever finished with 19 points and Harris had 15.
Missed free throws hurt Granada. That Matadors were 3 of 9 from the foul line in the third quarter, when De La Salle erased a seven-point halftime deficit, and 14 of 26 for the game.
“We’ve just got to work on it more in practice,” McKeever said.
Granada has two more challenging games this week, both on the road. The Matadors visit San Ramon Valley on Thursday and Dublin on Saturday.
De La Salle, which has won its past three league games by a total of eight points, plays host to Foothill on Thursday and then will face state powerhouse Harvard-Westlake in Southern California on Saturday.
When the Spartans return to the Bay Area, they play at Dougherty Valley next Tuesday.
Etc.
Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman attended the game to visit with De La Salle tight end Cooper Flanagan, who signed with the Irish in December. Flanagan sat in the stands with some of his football teammates, including lineman Derek Thompson, to cheer on the basketball team.