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DeLaSalle Wins 4th-Straight Class 3A Boy's Championship

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — It was something five DeLaSalle seniors had talked about since they took the court as freshmen four years ago.

Sacar Anim scored 32 points to lead DeLaSalle to an 82-64 win over St. Paul Johnson in the Class 3A boys' basketball championship on Saturday night, and lifting the Islanders (27-4) to their fourth-straight 3A championship - becoming one of only three Minnesota high school teams to win four state titles in a row.

"It means everything to me," Anim said. "For us to have our dreams come true, it's unbelievable."

Anim, who is committed to Marquette, scored nine points in the opening four minutes of the second half to build on the Islanders' 32-22 halftime lead.

The game got away from the Governors (27-4) before intermission. DeLaSalle seniors Anim, Jarvis Johnson and Josh Collins orchestrated a 23-5 run in the first half, springing the program to another title and the first without two key contributors to the previous three titles.

The Islanders graduated two primary big men in 6-foot-8 forward Reid Travis and 6-foot-4 forward James Lawson after winning their third-straight title in 2014. To ensure sustained success, Islanders coach Dave Thorson preached a selfless team approach on a team riddled with individual talent.

Collins finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Islanders.

"I'm so proud of these five seniors and what they've meant to the program," Thorson said. "We were careful during the season. Clearly, we talked about having to get to March 14 to make history."

University of Minnesota basketball coach Richard Pitino was in attendance at the Target Center to watch Johnson, a 2015 recruit, who scored nine points and had five assists for DeLaSalle.

Johnson, who was also named to the Class 3A All-Tournament team, became the first player in Minnesota history to start for four-straight championship teams.

"Jarvis does what the team needs him to do. Sometimes I get a little irritated because they say, 'Geez, he doesn't score very much," Thorson said. "All he does is drive the DeLaSalle car perfectly and he's driven it to four consecutive state championships. That's the only statistic I'm interested in."

Justus Murphy picked up his fourth foul with 15 minutes left, stunting St. Paul Johnson's chances at a comeback.

Jalen Mobley scored 19 points for the Governors.

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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