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Few people gave Blair-Taylor much of a shot to defeat WIAA Division 4 state powerhouse Dominican in Saturday's title game at the Kohl Center in Madison.

And while the Wildcats certainly played with spunk and intensity, and managed to stay within 32-30 of the heavily favored Knights late into the second period, the final was indeed predictable.

Riding the considerable talents of 6-foot-10 junior Diamond Stone and 6-6 senior Jack Jelacic, Dominican rolled to a 74-50 victory to secure its third straight Division 4 state crown.

Stone, a national recruit with scholarship offers from both Marquette and Wisconsin, finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocked shots.

Jelacic, a terrific three-sport athlete for the Knights, added 14 points and 14 rebounds.

Junior guard Tywon Bressler Jr. (6-2) also scored 14 points for Dominican, which finished the season on a 20-game winning streak and went 25-3 overall under second-year coach Derek Berger.

"Tonight was one of our most consistent efforts of the season," Berger said. "I can't say enough about Jack and how he cleaned everything up for us on the glass. Our defensive pressure got us some layyups and we were also able to get to the foul line."

Dominican scored 13 points in transition, but the Knights were even more impressive in the paint as Stone helped the winners to a commanding 38-10 edge in the lane.

"We played with them early, but we just ran out of gas," Blair-Taylor coach Randy Storlie said. "They are a great team and deserve to be champions."

Blair-Taylor (23-4) got a strong performance out of senior Dalton Soto (6-5), who scored a team-high 14 points while also grabbing 11 rebounds and bringing the ball up the floor against Dominican's full-court pressure defense.

Junior guard Brett Ladsten (6-1) also played well for the Wildctas as he finished with 14 points.

"This is the first ball of any type coming back to Blair-Taylor," Storlie said. "I told the kids they can be extremely proud of that."

Dominican, meanwhile, looks ahead to next year with three starters back in Stone, Bressler and guard Austin Mautry.

"Three titles in a row ... it builds on our history and separates us a little bit (from other teams)," Berger said.

Stone, who plans to try out for the USA basketball team again this summer, is looking forward to helping Dominican perhaps join Randolph as teams from Wisconsin to win four straight WIAA titles.

"The off season starts Monday for me," Stone said. "Hopefully, I can make the USA team again. And then I'll come back and go for (WIAA title) again next year."

Berger said it's way too early to know for sure if Dominican will opt up a division in next year's WIAA playoffs.

The Knights, along with all of the other private schools in the state, may be in line for a 1.65 multiplier to be applied to their total enrollment. The WIAA membership will vote on adding a 1.65 multiplier for all private schools that compete in post-season competition next month.

If that measure passes, Dominican would be placed in Division 3 for basketball.

If the ammendment fails, Dominican could still opt to move up a division.

"At this point, I want to enjoy our three-peat and let it soak in," Berger said. "We'll work out next year in a few weeks or so."

Stone and Jelacic played their last game together in the victory over Blair-Taylor.

The talented frontcourt duo has spent the past three seasons competing together for a Knights program that has won 76 of 84 contests.

"Playing with Jack means everything to me," Stone said. "He catches the ball, that's the main thing. Or at least most of the time. I will miss playing with Jack next year."

Jelacic, also an outstanding wide receiver in football and a stellar baseball player, is unsure what sport he'll pursue at the next level.

He is sure he will miss playing basketball with Stone.

"Playing with Diamond the last three years has been great," Jelacic said. "We have a connection on the court."