CARLSBAD – The host Carlsbad High Lancers were minus the two players that would have given them a consider size advantage in their CIF San Diego Section Division I semifinal with Oceanside El Camino Tuesday night.
“No worries”, Lancers’ 5-foot-11 senior guard Jailen Nelson said, though, by way of a stunning performance that propelled his team to an 72-44 victory and spot in the Saturday championship game with Santa Fe Christian at UC San Diego.
Nelson (pictured), who committed to Cal State Monterey Bay last week, turned in a tidy 42-point, no fuss or muss, performance and forcing – to no avail – the Wildcats to throw multiple defenders and schemes in an attempt to slow him down.
He hit his first four shots – mid-range jumps and layups – and, coupled with perfection on four free throws, used three 3s for 23 points in a first half that ended with the hosts in front, 35-30.
The Lancers drop the hammer on the visitors in the third quarter – outscoring them, 24-6 – with Nelson rolling his total to 36 points but also grabbing three rebounds and dishing for 3s by sophomore Toby Harris (who had four on the game and finished with 16 points) and junior Sam Hasegawa.
Nelson, who scored his final points on a slick left-handed (he’s a righty) layup in traffic with 1:30 remaining, hit 12 of 21 shots from the floor to go with all 12 of his free throws, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and only two turnovers.
As impressive as anything the Nelson-led Lancers did all night, though, was that they continued to dive on the floor, defend with tenacity and cut, screen and pass with precision on offense until the final buzzer.
The Lancers (24-7) played without a couple of juniors in 6-6 Caleb Nelson (out for a couple of weeks with an ankle injury) and 6-10 Kai Burdick (who suffered a thumb injury during practice Monday).
“We couldn’t have asked more out of Jailen and the rest of the guys tonight,” Carlsbad Coach Sam Eshelman said afterward.
The Lancers played in San Diego Section title games in each of the past two seasons, beating Rancho Buena Vista (72-54) in the D-II game last year and dropping a three-overtime decision to Mount Miguel (79-76) in 2018.
This will be the program’s first D-I championship game since 2002.
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