De La Salle star Alec Blair leads Spartans past Monte Vista in EBAL opener
CONCORD — The league opener between De La Salle and Monte Vista on Tuesday night had a little bit of everything. Dunks. No-look passes. Reverse layups. Even a shot from 70 feet that banked in as time expired to end the first half.
But in the end, De La Salle had too much size, too much length, too much Alec Blair.
Behind the junior’s 22 points and everything else that he does for his team, the Spartans prevailed at home 65-54 as they bounced back from a double-overtime loss Saturday to undefeated Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
“We prepared all nonleague for league,” De La Salle coach Marcus Schroeder said after his team improved to 14-3 overall and 1-0 in the East Bay Athletic League. “We played some tough games down South to prepare us for these games right here. Monte Vista obviously has been playing incredibly well. They were tough. We kind of got some separation early. But we could never really get rid of them. That’s how they are. They never give up.”
De La Salle, ranked No. 2 by the Bay Area News Group, took the lead for good midway through the first quarter on a 3-pointer by senior Arshawn Salkhi. The Spartans widened the margin to double digits in the second period and held off every Monte Vista challenge down the stretch.
Salkhi (11 points) and Braddock Kjellesvig (10 points) also scored in double figures for DLS.
Daniel Cojocaru had himself a game for the visitors. He made the 70-foot shot to beat the halftime buzzer, which brought the third-ranked Mustangs to within 35-24, and finished with 24 points.
“He’s been really good,” Monte Vista coach Nick Jones said. “He’s been a great leader. He’s good at just bringing everybody together. He’s done a great job.”
Jones was proud of his team’s effort. The Mustangs fell to 15-2, 0-1.
“We were undersized at most spots,” Jones said. “I thought we battled. I don’t necessarily think we played well. But we competed and battled. A lot of our guys, this was their first EBAL game as contributors. We really only have two guys back who played a lot of minutes last year for our team.
“We have a lot of newer players and they played really well in the preseason. But their first EBAL game at De La Salle was a challenge.”
Blair made it especially challenging as the 6-foot-6 star showed off his array of skills and some swag.
He made no-look passes, beat defenders off the dribble, knocked down midrange jumpers and got to the rim whenever there was an opening, including a first-half dunk.
“They’re always a fun team to play,” Blair said. “Their crowd is awesome. Honestly, it might be my favorite team to play. They’re always talking. I love the environment. A lot of people come to the game. For me, the more people the better. I love that.”
Blair had a chance to be the hero on Saturday in Los Angeles, but his shot from the corner of the key (i.e. the elbow) at the end of regulation did not fall.
“You’ve got to learn from it,” Blair said. “Every win, every loss, I think there are lessons to be learned. I didn’t play my best. I missed the game-winning shot. They said I had 22 points. It doesn’t matter. I could have ended the game with 18 and we go home with the win. I’ve practiced that shot a lot more. I missed it, came back here and shot that shot probably at least 100 times.”
When EBAL play continues Friday, De La Salle will be at home to face Amador Valley and Monte Vista will play host to Dublin.