Salesian falls to Folsom

For much of the season, the Salesian-Richmond boys basketball team has had a rocksolid combination of excellent guards, superb defense and big post play.

So when the Pride, the state’s top-ranked team, seemed to answer Folsom’s big spurt with a 12-0 run to take a 10point lead with 5:40 left in the fourth quarter Friday night, the game looked like a win for the Pride. Not so. Folsom (26-5) used the long reach of 6-foot-9 Harvard-bound post Mason Forbes to stymie Salesian’s inside attack en route to a 75-70 overtime victory in a CIF Open Division playoff game at Albany High.

The Pride (30-2), who got 30 points from Connecticut-bound James Akinjo, seemed to have the game won a couple of times, but for the second straight season dropped a tough first-round NorCal game.

The Pride went cold from the perimeter and now Folsom, known for its football, advances to semifinal play against Sac-Joaquin Section rival Sheldon-Sacramento, a 67-65 winner over San Joaquin Memorial-Fresno. In the SJS finals, Sheldon took an 18-point halftime lead over Fresno before losing in overtime.

Bishop Capital O’Dowd-Oakland Christian-Sacramento 78, 67: The Dragons (26-5) built a 17-point lead in the first half, but then had to outlast the visiting Cougars (22-9) in a NorCal Open Division game. Bishop O’Dowd will face Modesto Christian (29-3) in a semifinal game Tuesday. Four Dragons starters scored in double figures. Capital Christian played almost the entire game without Rick Barros, their No. 2 scorer averaging 15.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, after he was injured on its first offensive possession.

Modesto Christian 66, Bellarmine 53: Tyler Williams had 21 points and Junior Ballard contributed 18 as the host Crusaders (29-3) won the NorCal Open Division game. Kendall Stubblefield had 18 points and Jake Wojcik contributed 17 for the Bells (24-4). Stubblefield and Wojcik, both seniors, led Bellarmine to back-to-back West Catholic Athletic League outright titles. Damin Esper contributed to this report.