Delaby to the rescue: Senior’s steal leads Rocklin past Jesuit for section basketball title
Connor Delaby is of those effort guys who fire up teammates and irritate the other guys.
On Thursday night, the 6-foot-3 senior guard for the Rocklin Thunder came up with the biggest two plays of the game. He stole the ball off a trap in front of his team bench, immediately lobbed it inside to Ely Willis, who scored with 15 seconds left, and then the Rocklin Thunder survived Jesuit’s final shot at the buzzer to celebrate a stunning 46-45 victory for the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division II championship.
Players raced across the Golden 1 Center floor and could barely keep their poise during a spirited postgame scene, as the Placer County school recorded its first section crown in the sport since 2009.
Steve Taylor coached both section-champ teams and now has four to his credit as one of the top coaches of this generation. He endured some down seasons that laid the groundwork for the climb back. Three years after a last-place finish in the Sierra Foothill League, the Thunder roared to a 28-4 showing last season and are rolling now with a 14-game winning streak.
Taylor and his coaching staff were so certain that they would beat their new SFL rival in Jesuit that they had championship T-shirts made, but the coaches made sure to tuck them away in a back room, just in case. What country would they have sent those shirts to had they lost?
“Cheap investment,” Taylor said later amid laughter.
Delaby had 11 points, three rebounds and four steals. Reeve Slone, Rocklin’s Sacramento Bee All-Metro quarterback, had 14 points, including three 3-pointers, and he played strong trapping defense along with Delaby throughout the game.
Rocklin withstood Jesuit’s tremendous defense that held 2,000-career point scorer Mark Lavrenov to a season-low four points, in snatching victory from a storied program that was seeking its 11th section banner. The grit that allowed the program to climb from the bottom to here was exemplified by the Thunder’s ability to hang in there on the big stage that is an NBA venue.
“It’s nice to be better at the end than at the beginning of a game, and our guys have no quit,” Taylor said. “These guys play so hard. One play is the difference of the game. That’s one game I won’t forget.”
None of these guys will forget. That’s why kids get into sports — for moments like this. Willis is a transfer from nearby Whitney High, but the 6-4 senior was familiar with Thunder players. His best friend, after all, is Delaby. Willis had just one field goal: the game winner. He also snatched seven rebounds.
Delaby and Slone helped limit Marauders senior guard star Asher Schroeder to hard-earned 16 points. A game defined by defense came to one last dramatic stop that the team had to have.
“I ripped the ball out of his hands and saw Ely — game time!” Delaby said of the critical play. “That’s all it was.”
It was also a battle of endurance. You don’t play four quarters of this sort of aggressive, throwback defense without having tired legs. The teams split in SFL play, both of the games a battle. Rocklin was the No. 2 seed, behind Destiny Christian of Sacramento, a team second-seeded Jesuit beat in a semifinal.
Lavrenov is headed to Sacramento State on scholarship, and the 6-8 senior and fourth-year starter is a Bee Player of the Year candidate. He’s also generous in his praise of his teammates, as they are of him. His aim is to win games, not score all the points. He muscled inside for eight rebounds and had two steals and was as delighted as anyone for the triumph.
“I wouldn’t want to be with anyone else,” Lavrenov said. “The chemistry we have is second to none. That’s why we’re here.”
Said Delaby of Lavrenov, “Mark doesn’t care if he scores. All he cares about is winning. That’s who he is.”
Both Rocklin (24-8) and Jesuit (22-9) will advance to the CIF Northern California tournament that starts Tuesday at home sites. The last time Rocklin won a NorCal title in this sport was in 2009, the school’s last section title club.
Taylor said he will celebrate Thursday night and worry about next week this coming Sunday, when the CIF releases playoff brackets in the afternoon.
He surprised the team not only with those championship shirts but with the good news that he ordered up 10 large pizzas at CJ’s Pizza Bar & Grill that is located just down the block from campus. Players cheered while pulling on their new shirts.
“Sometimes to appreciate these moments, you have to suffer,” Taylor said, tying the rise back to the lean season of three years ago. “This senior class, great leaders for the program and on campus. It hasn’t been easy. We’ve got to earn everything.”
This story was originally published February 27, 2025 at 10:44 PM.