FRENCH CONNECTION: French, Trujillo combine for 67 points

Miguel French came out looking to make a statement against Dixon on Tuesday night — and that's exactly what he did.

Early in the first quarter, Lindhurst High's dynamic forward received the ball in the corner, dribbled baseline and threw down a vicious one-handed jam while being fouled for a three-point play.

The dunk set the tone for the Blazers, and away they went.

French added two more highlight-reel slams during the contest to finish with a game-high 38 points, fellow senior James Trujillo added 29 of his own and Lindhurst ran past the Rams for a 96-74 Golden Empire League victory at home.

Scoring was no problem in this one as Lindhurst repeatedly beat Dixon's press to turn the game into a lay-up line of sorts. The Blazers made a staggering 44 of 62 shots from the field on the night and the only question late was if Lindhurst's scoreboard would reach triple digits.

It didn't, but it was close.

"I thought that if we played the way I thought we could play, we could have a game like this," Lindhurst coach Bob Jensen said. "Dixon plays that high-tempo style and we did a pretty good job of attacking it. We exploited an opening and they never adjusted."

Of course, the story of the game was French, who erupted for 13 points in the first quarter en route to the highest scoring night of his varsity career. The 6-foot-5 forward also displayed his versatility, recording five assists, five blocks and four steals.

"Coach told us that Dixon and Capital Christian were the toughest games in our league and we wanted to come out strong, get ahead and set the tempo," French said. "This is my first time scoring that many points. I'm excited."

For Jensen, the big night from his senior captain came as no surprise.

"He's big and he's skilled," Jensen said. "Obviously he scored a lot of points tonight, but he did a lot of other things well, too."

Not too far behind French was Trujillo, who scored 16 points in the second half to help the Blazers break the game open. He was also a force on the defensive end by swiping five steals and he even threw down a dunk of his own on a breakaway midway through the second quarter.

"It was my first time doing it in a game," Trujillo said of his dunk. "It was a good team win. Everybody was hustling and working together tonight."

Senior Jarrade Davis came off the bench to score 10 points and pulled down eight rebounds and junior point guard Cedrick Thomas dished out eight assists for the Blazers, who upped their mark to 15-5 overall and 3-0 in the GEL with the victory.

Jensen said that the 96-point effort was the second most points the Blazers have scored during his nine-year tenure as coach. He recalled a win a few years back in which Lindhurst scored 100 points against Mesa Verde.

Up next for the Blazers is a trip across the Yuba River to play rival Marysville on Friday. They will host Capital Christian (16-4, 3-0), ranked No. 16 in the latest Sacramento Bee rankings, next Tuesday in what's shaping up to be a battle for first place.