It took first-year Blair coach Jelani Gardner 22 games (this season) to do something that program hadn’t accomplished in 16 years.
To beat the perennial Rio Hondo League champions from La Canada High School.
Blair used 14 points and 9 rebounds from Dez Washington and broke at least a 33-game losing streak on Friday night when they defeated La Canada by a score of 50-45.
And to put icing on the cake, they did so in the Spartans’ own gym.
According to a member of the La Canada staff, Blair hadn’t beaten the Spartans since 2001, and La Canada took the first game of the 2017-18 season 12 days ago, 51-47, at Blair.
“I felt early on this was our day and they missed some shots they usually make,” Gardner said. “They didn’t play their best basketball, but sometimes that what it takes to beat a great team on their home court.”
Blair (17-5, 5-1) and La Canada (15-9, 5-1) are tied for first in the Rio Hondo League with four games for each school to play over the next two weeks.
The Vikings would actually win the tiebreaker by 1 point, because it comes down to the differential score in the two head-to-head games.
Blair beat La Canada by 5 on Friday and 12 days ago, the Spartans left Pasadena with a 4-point victory.
Back to Friday’s huge win, though.
Zavior Smith came up big with 14 points and 5 rebounds, and Dallas Murray finished with 10 points and 6 rebounds for the Vikings.
After starting the second half tied at 27-27, Blair got out to a 10-point lead, but as champions do, especially at home, La Canada fought back each time the Vikings made a run.
La Canada got as close as 47-43 late, but Blair did not shrivel up when it came to crunch time.
Blair’s basketball program is the only successful athletics team the Vikings have and their student body takes great pride, so the look on the player’s faces after the game was ‘priceless,’ as Coach Gardner put it.
Box Score:
Blair: 13-14-11-12-(50)
LC: 10-17-4-14-(45)
Quotable:
Blair coach Jelani Gardner: “We were switching our defenses a lot to keep them confused and we really emphasized containing the ball. We didn’t jump at shots and challenged them on the floor. We didn’t want them to get any open shots. We wanted to make them create offense off the dribble. We always want to have a balanced effort and got that tonight. When we have 3-4 guys in double figures, we usually win and win convincingly. We knew it was a big game, but we set goals and we won 2 of the 3 tournament championships we played in, and our next goal was to win a league championship and tonight was a big step in the right direction. It’s a reward for all the hard work we’ve put in. All the hours without pay, all the relationships, all the film and late nights. The win tonight was a culmination of all of those things.”
Principal David Ibarra: “As an administrator it’s our job to create a culture of pride and sprit. I am a Viking and I’m proud to be here and I want to be here. We haven’t been competitive in sports, but we can be competitive in sports. I watched the game next to a parent and said ‘this is a historic moment.’ Just to see the excitement in the players and coaches and the pride in the faces of the fans is priceless. This is type of success and excitement that I want to bring for each of the programs at Blair.”
La Canada (15-9, 5-1) Remaining Schedule:
Jan 31: Temple City at La Canada
Feb 2: La Canada at South Pasadena
Feb 6: La Canada at Monrovia
Feb 8: San Marino at La Canada
Blair (17-5, 5-1) Remaining Schedule:
Jan 27: Blair vs St. John Bosco at St. Pius
Jan 31: Monrovia at Blair
Feb 2: Temple City at Blair
Feb 6: Blair at San Marino
Feb 8: South Pasadena at Blair
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