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DUBLIN — Sometimes one call, one free throw — or both — is all it takes.
Dublin star Anthony Roy had three points when he stepped to the foul line in the third quarter Wednesday night after Bellarmine’s Ryan Kiachian was assessed a technical for hanging on the rim.
Kiachian had just dunked an alley-oop pass from Quinn Denker to extend the visitor’s lead to 11.
Debate the call all you want — maybe or maybe not it was warranted — but there was no debating that the free throw got Roy and his teammates going.
The Gaels went on a 16-0 run after the whistle that turned the game completely around.
As a result, No. 4 seed Dublin prevailed 73-69 to advance to play top-seeded Sheldon of Sacramento on Saturday night at Cosumnes River College in the semifinals of the California Interscholastic Federation Northern California Open Division regional.
Bellarmine’s season came to an end.
“All Anthony needs is a free throw to get going,” teammate Nick Costello said. “He’s a lights-out shooter. He’s one of the best in Northern California, for sure. He hadn’t been shooting very well before that. As soon as that free throw went in, he saw the ball go through the hoop and it was over after that.”
Roy scored 19 points after the technical to finish with 22.
Costello, known for his hustle and grit, had 13 points before halftime to keep Dublin within striking distance. The senior ended up with a career-high 18, making the triumph even more special for his dad, Dublin coach Tom Costello.
“I am so proud of the kid,” the elder Costello said. “He picked a hell of a game to have a career-high. He competes and does a good job of finding out what the team needs. I hope he doesn’t go home and say, ‘I need more shots.'”
The matchup figured to be special for one team and bitter for the other, depending on the result. Both have put together terrific résumés, with Dublin winning the East Bay Athletic League championship and Bellarmine claiming a share of the West Catholic Athletic League title.
Had their Open Division section finals gone a little differently last weekend, they might have been sitting at home Wednesday with an opening-round bye. But Dublin lost to Bishop O’Dowd and Bellarmine fell to Mitty, both outcomes decided by three points.
So in the five-team NorCal Open Division, Bellarmine and Dublin met in what looked like a “play-in” game in the bracket but, in reality, was a heavyweight fight.
“This is uncharted territory for us,” said Costello, whose program had never participated in the state Open Division, which was added in 2013. “I was telling the guys we’re just breaking barriers each game. You don’t really know what it’s like until you get there.
“The heavyweight metaphor is extremely accurate. It’s just blow after blow after blow. They go on a 10-0 run. We come back. We take the lead. They come back. It’s just boom, boom, boom. These are the games you remember.”
Bellarmine has been in plenty of these games the past few years and seemed poised for its first Open victory after losses to Sheldon in 2017 and Modesto Christian in 2018.
The fifth-seeded Bells (23-5) played at their pace in the first half and took an eight-point cushion at intermission.
The third quarter began much like the first half ended. When Kyle Lewis scored, stole the ball and scored again, Bellarmine led 44-35.
Then, after another Dublin turnover, Denker lobbed to Kiachian for a dunk that had the visitors feeling good.
That is until the whistle blew.
“The technical was unfortunate because he had lost his balance a little bit and the ball was under his feet,” Bellarmine coach Patrick Schneider said. “I understand that he lifted and automatically that’s going to be called in most circumstances. But it wasn’t a taunt and it was just for player safety.
“I have no dispute over the call because I understand why it was made but I also understand why it could not have been made. But it became a game-changing call.”
Dublin got hot, Bellarmine lost its momentum and, by the end of the third quarter, the visitor’s 11-point advantage was gone.
“Their best player gets to see the ball go through the net, which we were trying to avoid letting him do,” Denker said. “He was making some really tough shots. All props to him. He’s a great player. We didn’t do a good job of communicating. In our losses this year, it was primarily because of our third-quarter play. The CCS championship, we won every quarter except for the third.”
Bellarmine reclaimed the lead at 61-59 when Lewis sank two free throws with 5:08 left. But Dublin answered with a 7-0 run and never trailed again.
Denker finished with 20 points in his final game for Bellarmine. The Bells also got 16 points from Ian Elam, 14 from Lewis and 12 from Kiachian.
Dublin got the points it needed from an unlikely offensive source and its star player.
Now, the Gaels are moving on.
“It was all mental,” Roy said. “First half my shots weren’t falling. But I just remained confident and my teammates had confidence in me, too. I wouldn’t say it was that (the free throw). I was just trying to win.
“It was, ‘Win or go home.’ Our whole team knew that. We definitely had to play hard.”