Climb the ladder: Modesto Christian overcomes De La Salle to advance in Open Division
Since Modesto Christian’s state championship game appearance in 2022, it hasn’t been back. In 2023, the Crusaders lost in the NorCal championship, 2024 was a semifinal exit and last season was a first-round loss. After winning three straight section titles from 2022-2024, they finished as the 2025 runner-up.
“We needed to start going back up the ladder,” Modesto Christian head coach Chris Teevan said.
The Crusaders accomplished the first part of that Saturday, getting back atop the Sac-Joaquin Section’s top division as the D-I champions with a 55-42 win over Sheldon. It was a game never in doubt after the first quarter.
Modesto Christian won it with essentially a new group of players. Just Trevor Dickson and Seve Archuletta were on the court for the Crusaders in last season’s D-I title game loss and last week’s championship win. Elijah Payne also was on both teams but missed this year’s title game with an ankle injury.
The Crusaders learned their CIF Northern California Regional playoff draw Sunday: The No. 4 seed in the Open Division. With their one home game of the state playoffs just days away, they had to quickly shake off the joy of winning a section title and get back to work.
“It’s really hard for guys who have never (won a section championship) before to get over that elation of emotion,” Teevan said.
The team had its first bad practice of the season Monday, but responded with a “great practice Tuesday.”
Wednesday, the Crusaders laced them up against another storied program, No. 5 seed De La Salle, in the first round of the Open Division NorCal tournament.
Modesto Christian took another step up the ladder in the midweek showdown, winning 71-59, led by another well-rounded effort that saw all five starters score double figures.
“To put up 70 in an Open Division game is really hard to do,” Teevan said. “So I’m proud of them.”
Trevor Dickson scored a game-high 19 points, Seve Archuletta scored 14, Siincere Hudson and Cole Martin added 13, and Somto Patrick chipped in 12 as the Crusaders pulled away late to set up a matchup with the Open Division No. 1 seed, Archbishop Riordan of San Francisco, on Saturday.
No boys team in Northern California has been in as many Open Division brackets as the Crusaders. Modesto Christian has participated in what MaxPreps dubbed the nation’s toughest high school postseason tournament 11 times since it was introduced in 2013.
“I think this is a legendary program,” Dickson said. “We can never win enough. We want to keep winning and keep winning.”
For most of the second half, the Crusaders held around a 10-point lead, but with five minutes, 26 seconds in the fourth quarter, Modesto Christian held just a 56-52 advantage. De La Salle was threatening and the Crusaders needed a run.
Martin netted a pull-up jumper, Patrick rose for a putback dunk off a missed layup, and Dickson came away with a steal and breakaway dunk as part of a 6-2 Crusaders run to open up a 62-54 advantage. After three free throws by De La Salle’s Noah Ladrech, Modesto Christian did not allow a point for the rest of the contest.
To put the game away, the Crusaders went to old faithful. With four seconds left on the shot clock, a baseline out-of-bounds play sent Dickson flying from one end of the court to the strong side corner, where he caught the ball and quickly released a corner three while fading away from a rapidly approaching Spartans defender.
“A lot of that stuff was born in November,” Teevan said. “That’s the first out-of-bounds play we ever put in.”
The Crusaders led 12-9 after the first quarter and late in the second period extended a 29-18 advantage after an 11-0 run that included a three by Archuletta, three Martin free throws and a 5-0 run by Dickson. They took a 31-23 lead into halftime.
Davit Pachulia, son of former Golden State Warriors NBA champion Zaza Pachulia, and Ibrahim Monawar tried to get the Spartans back in the game in the third. Pachulia scored eight quick points with a pair of threes as part of a 14-point quarter and Monawar had five points in the frame. But the Crusaders maintained their lead, finishing the frame ahead 54-47.
The Crusaders’ timely run late in the fourth quarter sealed the game and Dickson delivered one of the knockout punches. The Crusaders sealed the 12-point win with free throws.
“I give them credit, they shot the ball well today, we were just able to hit a big shot,” Dickson said. “In my head, that’s a shot I got to make. Coach says the word ‘dagger’ a lot. That was the dagger.”
Modesto Christian has a rematch Saturday, when it takes on an Archbishop Riordan Crusaders team that was rated the No. 1 team in Northern California by the CIF seeding committee.
Both Crusaders squads faced off Jan. 24 at the Crush In The Valley Showcase at Napa Valley College. Modesto Christian led 30-28 at halftime and held a 33-28 advantage with 6:37 left in the third quarter. They took a 48-47 lead into the fourth quarter but Riordan closed out the game well, winning 64-58.
For a large part of that game, Modesto Christian had the upper hand, but Riordan opened the game and started the game like a well-oiled machine, making key shots and executing plays down the stretch.
“I think our team is a little more balanced,” Teevan said of how Modesto Christian has improved since their first matchup. “Everyone knows where they’re going to be. With that said, Riordan’s the No. 1 team for a reason.”
