The Dublin High School Varsity Boys Basketball team had a red-hot shooting night from 3-point range to stake a big lead and cruise to a 66-42 victory over Elk Grove to claim its 5th consecutive Don Nelson Classic (DNC) Championship. All of the highlight’s from Saturday’s game and the entire DNC can be found on the ScoreVision FanApp.
Dublin made 10 shots from beyond the arc in the first half, accounting for 30 of the team’s 37 points. Donovan Cooks made 5 three-pointers in the first half while Courtney Anderson Jr. made 4 of his first half three-point attempts. The Gaels extended their lead to 59-29 after the third quarter to seal the victory. Anderson finished with a game-high 27 points while Cooks ended up with 24 points. In addition, both Anderson and Cooks had double-figures in rebounds with 12 and 10 respectively. Anderson was named the DNC’s Most Valuable Player, while Cooks and Freshman Jalen Stokes were named All-Tournament.
With the tournament victory, Dublin improves to 5-3 overall on the season. More significantly, the team proved that they can overcome significant adversity after losing two starters earlier in the week (T.J. Costello and Thomas Labat0 to injury) in addition to dropping three of their first five games to start the season.
The Gaels will now travel to face Kennedy High School of Fremont on Wednesday, December 22nd on a night which is anticipated to be the season debut of Mekhi Thomas. Thomas is a sharp-shooting transfer from Arroyo who had to sit out the first 8 games due to North Coast Section eligibility rules. After facing the Titans, the Gaels will travel down south for The Classic at Damien, an invite-only event for some of the top programs in the country. Dublin begins league play on January 5th at Amador Valley and returns home again on Friday, January 14th against Livermore.
In other highlights for the Boys Basketball program, the Freshmen won a tournament for the second week in a row by knocking off Berkeley to claim the Pittsburg Tournament title. The team is now 9-1 overall on the season. Dublin’s Junior Varsity team also won on Saturday to improve their mark on the year to 5-2. There will be a rare Frosh/JV only home doubleheader in the Sports Complex on Monday, December 20th as the Gaels host Moreau Catholic of Hayward (5:30/7:00). Admission will be free of charge.
