By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor
The Palisades High boys basketball team did not show up for last Thursday’s season opener at Birmingham High in Lake Balboa to earn respect against the reigning City Open Division champions. The Dolphins were there to win.
They left two hours later having achieved their goal while fans of the home team, who arrived expecting to witness an easy night, filed out of the gym in shock. For the visitors, the sound of silence was deafening after a 68-64 overtime victory.
“We come to every game knowing we can win,” said junior guard Avery Lee, who led the Dolphins with 18 points. “We knocked them off, we did it! This is a great building block for the rest of the year. We showed ourselves and other teams what we’re capable of. It starts with defense. If you commit yourself to that, it turns into offense at the other end of the floor.”
Palisades’ core group is used to pressure situations, having played on the squad that won the Division I title in 2020 and they used that experience to erase a seven-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter.
Owen Larbalestier had 16 points, none more important than a twisting layup to tie it 51-51 with 13 seconds left in regulation. Larry Olayinka missed a jumper at the buzzer for Birmingham and the Dolphins had all the momentum on their side.
Seniors Charlie Moore and Bowdoin Brazell, key contributors to the 2020 title run and the Dolphins’ trip to the Division I quarterfinals in the spring, each had 13 points against the Patriots, who were regarded as one of the favorites to win the City’s top division until last week’s upset.
Palisades was able to come back in large part because of its accuracy at the free throw line. The Dolphins made 19 of their 23 foul shots while Birmingham converted only 14 of 24 from the charity stripe. Zach Haas and Bo Johansson each added four points for Palisades, which heads to the Rose City Round Ball Classic at Maranatha High in Pasadena next week.
“I believe in these guys,” said Palisades Coach Donzell Hayes, whose team avenged a 58-48 defeat in the 2019-20 season opener. “We didn’t have a lot of offense for most of the game, but if you rebound and knock down free throws you give yourself an opportunity. So I’m not surprised. In our system we don’t recruit, we develop players and by doing that every two years we give ourselves a chance to win it all.”
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