Folsom leaves Colfax singin' the blues

The Colfax High basketball team saw an eerie sequence of deja vu played out at Earl Crabbe Gym Thursday night. The Falcons can only hope the familiar feeling continues.Just like last year, Colfax entered the opening game of the Kendall Arnett Tournament with a perfect record and just like last season, the Falcons' first defeat had plenty of drama.Inspired by the return of 6-foot-7 senior forward Kyle Thomas, Folsom beat Colfax 76-72 in overtime. Falcons' junior Scott Krizman poured in 34 points, but it wasn't enough to overcome the loss of senior leader Devin Ginty early in the fourth quarter after he fouled out.Last season, Colfax lost 59-58 to Granite Bay in Placer's historic tournament, and then rattled off 18 straight wins, going 12-0 in the Pioneer Valley League and soaring to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV title."You learn a lot more from your defeats than you do your wins," Colfax coach Ron Pucci said after Thursday's loss. "This was a good test for us. Give a lot of credit to Folsom. They played exceptionally well and they deserved to win."In a thrilling fourth-quarter finish, Folsom's Ben Palmer drilled two free throws with 33 seconds left to make it 68-68. Colfax (10-1) missed two shots and Folsom (8-4) missed three shots in the final 30 seconds including a fall-away from Thomas that rimmed out at the buzzer.In overtime, Colfax's Donovan Gannon scored four points, but that's all the Falcons could muster against a physical Folsom defense. Thomas, who finished with 26 points, hit 3 of 4 free throws and Tony Johnson drilled a 3 to lead the Bulldogs in overtime.Thomas had missed the previous six games with a sprained ankle, but the lefty showed why he's already landed a scholarship to Loyola of Chicago. "I think Thomas returning from injury gave them a big lift, they were inspired," Pucci said of Folsom.Meanwhile Colfax's senior star was saddled with foul trouble most of the night. Ginty picked up his third foul just over a minute into the second quarter. Krizman then scored eight straight points to put the Falcons up by nine before the Bulldogs began chipping away.Folsom went on a 10-2 run and took a 36-33 lead into halftime.Ginty played well in the third, staking the Falcons to a 51-50 lead after three quarters. But a questionable charge on Ginty and then a reach-in foul moments later sent Ginty to the bench with 4:19 remaining.Joel Iventosch, Omar Khalidy, Krizman and Gannon all took turns running the point and kept Colfax close, but the Falcons clearly missed their playmaker, who entered the game averaging 9.5 assists per."We depend on Devin a lot," Pucci said. "Without our quarterback out there it makes it tough. We were using a point guard by committee and they did a pretty good job. We had our chances, but Folsom made the plays at the end."Gannon and Matt Harrell finished with 11 points apiece and Khalidy scored nine. Ginty finished with five points and six assists. Colfax will face Monterey Trail today at 3:30 p.m. in a consolation bracket game.