Zaire Rasshan finds his shot and Damien takes the Division I state boys' basketball title

"I told him to start making them," LeDuc said. "I knew they were going to fall," Rasshan responded. He made a three to start the third quarter, launching a 10-0 surge that Folsom never recovered from. Damien came away with a 58-55 victory at Golden 1 Center, becoming the fifth straight team from the Southern Section Open Division to drop down to Division I and come away as state champion."

"Rasshan finished with 18 points, including five threes. His three with 1:05 left moved Damien to an eight-point lead. Elijah Smith had 18 points and four assists. Eli Garner scored 15 points and had 13 rebounds. Throughout the fourth quarter, the Spartans (32-7) kept finding open players with near-perfect execution on offense."

"Their level of execution was on another level from anyone we've played," Folsom coach Mike Wall said. Damien outrebounded Folsom 32-21 and had an 11-2 edge in offensive rebounds and took 30 threes to Folsom's 18."

Damien High School defeated Folsom 58-55 to win the California Division I state basketball championship at Golden 1 Center. Coach Mike LeDuc encouraged Zaire Rasshan to keep shooting despite going two of nine from three-point range at halftime. Rasshan responded by making a three-pointer to start the third quarter, igniting a 10-0 run that proved decisive. Rasshan finished with 18 points and five three-pointers, while Elijah Smith contributed 18 points and four assists, and Eli Garner added 15 points with 13 rebounds. Damien's superior execution and rebounding advantage of 32-21, combined with an 11-2 edge in offensive rebounds, proved crucial. Folsom's Joven Dulay and Parks Weaver each scored 16 points. Damien became the fifth consecutive Southern Section Open Division team to drop down and win the Division I state title.

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