Olenslager’s double-double lifts Legacy

It’s a rare occurrence when out-of-state teams meet twice in a regular season.

So when it happened to Legacy’s boys basketball team Saturday against La Salle (Calif.), one Longhorn player, Brody Olenslager, used it to his advantage.

Olenslager totaled 25 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Longhorns to a 55-45 win over the Lancers in the Battle Born Classic at Durango High. Legacy beat La Salle 61-46 on Dec. 30.

“I knew I would have some advantages if I ran the floor because we’ve played them before,” Olenslager said. “Their bigs didn’t get back as well, so I used that to my advantage. I knew they weren’t super physical on defense, and I knew they wouldn’t sprint back, so I had to step it up.”

Olenslager scored eight of his 25 points in the final minute, with his emphatic dunk with 55 seconds left giving the Longhorns a 47-39 lead.

“He had a great game for us,” Legacy coach Jack Tarango said. “He’s been that way throughout the year for us. He’s been our one constant. We’ve had a bunch of different things happen — kids getting kicked out of school, kids getting hurt — but he’s been around giving us good points per average and rebounding. I’m really proud of him. He really stepped up.”

Legacy’s lead was cut to 47-43 with 45.2 seconds left, but the Longhorns (10-13) closed with an 8-for-8 effort from the free-throw line.

Olenslager was 6-for-6 from the line in the final 40 seconds.

“That was huge,” Tarango said. “He’s really come up big. These last couple weeks, he’s been really coming with it every game. He’s really come out this year and played hard.”

Jacob Rainey finished with eight points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals for Legacy, which went 20 of 49 (40.8 percent) from the field.

Johnny Knox led La Salle with 19 points. Jaice Gardner grabbed 12 rebounds for the Lancers, who shot 14 of 54 (25.9 percent) from the field.

Contact reporter Ashton Ferguson at aferguson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0430. Follow him on Twitter: @af_ferguson.