Sports
Boys Basketball: De La Salle Hangs on Against Sheldon in MLK Classic
The Spartans hit six three-pointers and used a solid defensive effort to fend off the defending Sac-Joaquin Sections champions at Haas Pavillion.
De La Salle 48, Sheldon 45
The Star: De La Salle's Travis Pacos led all scorers with 19 points, including clutch free throws down the stretch to seal the victory for the Spartans.
The Turning Point: The game was tight for most of the second half, until De La Salle's Elliott Pitts hit two free throws with nine seconds left to make it a five-point game and put the game out of reach.
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The Quote: "Our number one goal for tonight was team rebounding," De La Salle coach Frank Allocco said.
What's next? De La Salle gets back into East Bay Athletic League action when it travels to Foothill on Tuesday.
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Bottom Line: The toughness and smart play of De La Salle forced Sheldon to take low percentage shots. The Spartans also defended well, holding the Huskies to one offensive rebound in the contest.
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Coming into this season there was a lot of talk about the basketball team's lack of size — questioning if it would prevent the Spartans maintaining their status as a championship caliber team.
On Monday, the Spartans showed why they are the defending North Coast Section champions by relying on their smarts and ability to play fundamental basketball.
De La Salle used a first-half surge and clutch free throws in the final seconds to beat Sac-Joaquin power Sheldon-Sacramento 48-45 at Haas Pavillion in the 14th Annual Martin Luther King Holiday Classic.
The Spartans were led by Travis Pacos' 19 points and the outside shooting of Amadi Udenyi.
"Coming into this game, we knew Sheldon was really good," Udenyi said. "This is big for us."
De La Salle's Elliott Pitts hit two free throws with nine seconds left in the game to give the Spartans a five-point cushion.
Sheldon had a chance to tie the game with less than a second to go, but a full-court heave landed well short as time expired.
"Our number one goal for tonight was team rebounding," De La Salle coach Frank Allocco said. "Sheldon does a great job of hitting the offensive boards hard and we weren't going to let that happen tonight."
After the Spartans raced out to a 19-11 lead in the first quarter, their hot hands cooled for the rest of the contest. They went on to score just nine points in the second quarter and five in the third.
But timely jumpers and key free throws down the stretch eventually gave the Spartans the edge.
"We knew we had to be on our game tonight, and play our best," Allocco said. "We hadn't been shooting the ball well lately."
Sheldon's Darius Nelson, who is committed to UTEP, scored 13 points, while Pepperdine-bound Ramon Eaton poured in 12 points in the loss.
"We are trying to compete and get better, and we are starting to do that," Allocco said. "This is a good win for us. Coming in I was concerned about us handling their size. Our team defense was the story."
For a team which isn't blessed with much size, the De La Salle defense stood tall. It got rebounds when it needed to and forced Nelson to shoot low-percentage shots.
Allocco spoke of Pacos' performance as a scorer, a role the senior stepped into this year.
"Travis has been doing this all year," Allocco said. "He doesn't do anything but win. He has worked on his game and gotten better. He didn't really play very much last year."
The Spartans head back into East Bay Athletic League action on Tuesday when they travel to Foothill.
