ONTARIO >> The trio that played a big part in Blair’s incredible turnaround season — freshman Timmy Anderson, sophomore Keshrey Smith Jr. and senior Shakour Sidney — were not going to let an opportunity to make history get away like other Vikings teams have done in the past.

After falling short in CIF-SS title games in 1983 and 2017, and after going 9-17 last season and 18-71 over the past four years, Blair’s resurrection is complete.

Top-seeded Blair won the school’s first CIF-SS boys basketball championship by beating No. 3 seed Santa Paula 84-59 for the Division 5A title Saturday night at Colony High School.

Blair improved to 23-10 while dropping Santa Paula to 13-10. Both teams will be in the CIF State regional playoffs that begin Tuesday.

Blair coach Devon Richardson said few believed the team would win a title when he took over a few years ago.

“I’m kind of speechless right now,” Richardson said. “You talk about it all year long, you set out for it, plan for it, and it’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears. That was the goal, to win a championship and we refused to settle for anything less.”

Blair’s big trio made sure the title didn’t get away this time.

Anderson, one of the top freshman scorers in the state, finished with a game-high 29 points and Sidney dominated on both ends, finishing with 28 points and 15 rebounds.

Smith, who leads the CIF-SS in assists, filled out the stat sheet with 14 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

“Absolutely, I wasn’t expecting anything less,” Richardson said when asked about the trio’s performance. “They’re great basketball players. Just because you go to a small school doesn’t mean you can’t get in the gym and do the work. I don’t think anyone puts in as much work as these guys. Inside the circle, we expected this. If you’re outside the circle, you wouldn’t know.”

The Vikings and Cardinals went back and forth most of the first quarter, but Sidney’s back-to-back baskets in the opening minutes of the second quarter gave the Vikings a 20-13 lead.

And they kept it going. Anderson hit a floater in the lane and then a spinning layup to finish a 10-2 run for a 28-15 lead.

The Vikings kept adding to their advantage. Anderson nailed a corner 3-pointer and Sidney dropped in a pull-up jumper in the final minute of the half for their biggest lead, 17 points.

The Cardinals got within nine points in the second half, but the Vikings built their lead back to 18 points with five minutes left, and that was that.

“It’s nice knowing the history of Blair and coming out here and scoring 29 points and winning the championship,” Anderson said. “This is what we came here for.”

Sidney is a senior who had been through all the tough times.

“This final run meant a lot to me,” Sidney said. “I wanted to put in my best work and do my best out there. And I did.”

Smith, a sophomore, said they know and trust each other so well that they were ready for their big moment.

“I love getting them the ball, they make me look good,” Smith said of Anderson and Sidney. “They’re hoopers, I’ve known that my whole life.”