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DeLaSalle slams Cretin-Derham Hall

By Shane Koob, Sport Ngin, 02/07/14, 11:15PM CST

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With All-American Reid Travis back in mix, Islanders look primed for another title


DeLaSalle's Jarvis Johnson drives and slams home this dunk in early action against Cretin-Derham Hall on Saturday. Photo by Brian W Nelson

Recently-named All-American Reid Travis hurt his foot back in August at the end of the Adidas Nations camp in Los Angeles, Calif.

The diagnosis?

"(Doctors) said it was overuse," Travis, a 6-foot-8 senior at DeLaSalle, said. "It was the last event of the summer, and I went to a lot of camps, a lot of tournaments, so I think it all kind of just built up."

But with Travis finally suiting up for the Islanders (16-3) for the first time in the 2013-14 season nearly a month ago, no one has slowed the second-ranked team in Class 3A.

Travis, a Stanford commit, posted a season-high 25 points in a total dismantling of No. 7 Cretin-Derham Hall on Saturday evening. The two-time defending state champion Islanders jumped out to a 9-0 lead and hammered the Raiders (18-4) by a final tally of 78-40.

DeLaSalle coach Dave Thorson said it was hard to see his star forward go down with an injury to close out the summer.

"The tough part about it was that he had worked so hard and played so well in the summer that I was just disappointed that it could potentially impact not only what he was going to do (this year), but what our team was going to do," Thorson said.

After the injury Stanford's coaching staff made sure Travis knew the foot issue would not impact their interest in him. He just simply needed rest, so doctors slapped a walking boot on him and limited what he could do.

The senior stuck to upper-body weight lifting to maintain strength and jumped in the pool to keep up on his cardio conditioning for the first month after the injury.

Travis admitted that it was difficult watching his teammates compete without him for the first half of the season, especially during his final season of high school ball.

"It was tough because I wanted to be out there with them," Travis said. "But the way they clicked and bonded, I was happy to see how we competed … obviously it would've been nice for me to be there, but I think that made us stronger as a team."

DeLaSalle has now rattled off 10 straight wins since Travis returned to the lineup, putting up an average of 81 points per game and holding opponents to an average of just 40.8 points per game.

The Islanders are locked and loaded for another run at a title, but what's the key to pulling off the three-peat?

"It's our focus," Travis said. "I think from one through thirteen, we're all locked in … I think everyone that's associated with the program right now is locking in because March is right around the corner … and as soon as March comes around, everyone kicks it up a notch."


DeLaSalle's Reid Travis scores two of his 25 points on this turnaround jumper over Cretin-Derham Hall's Sam Neumann. Photo by Brian W Nelson

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