Boys basketball playoffs: Placer, Colfax, Foresthill fall in quarterfinals

What looked like the most promising boys basketball season in decades at Placer High School came to an abrupt end Friday night. After a dominant performance in the first round, the second-seeded Hillmen came into the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III quarterfinals against No. 10 Merced-El Capitan hoping to punch their ticket to the semifinals and CIF NorCal Regional Tournament. Instead, the Gauchos pulled off a 67-54 upset on the road to continue their Cinderella run. Placer coach Nate Swesey said it was the perfect storm that took down the Hillmen, noting his team shot 3 of 20 from 3-point range and the Gauchos seemingly couldn't miss. Diego Ulteras led El Capitan with 23 points. Elias Ruiz scored 12 and Braylen Centeno added 11 for the Gauchos. El Capitan (19-10) held Emmett Rose, Placer's leading scorer and the state's leader in 3-pointers, to seven points and one 3-pointer. Kannon Rector led the Hillmen with 14 points while Joe Manley and Jeremiah Rethi each scored 10. The Hillmen (26-4) never led and trailed by double digits at the half but cut the deficit to three before El Capitan pulled away in the fourth quarter. El Capitan was set to face No. 6 Burbank on Tuesday in the semifinals. Division IV No. 3 Ripon Christian 53, No. 6 Colfax 46: The Falcons started the third quarter with an 11-0 burst to take an eight-point lead, but the host Knights (24-5) clawed back with an 11-2 run to open the fourth quarter and took control. Just as it had all season, Colfax battled with its grit but it was not enough to pull the upset on the road in the quarterfinals. Diego Maldonado led the Falcons with 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists while Josiah Sheets scored 10 points along with seven rebounds and five blocks. Ripon Christian junior Jake Vander Veen scored 11 of his game-high 19 points in the fourth quarter. Colfax finished 21-9 overall, its best record since head coach Devin Ginty took over the program. Ginty's record has improved every season as head coach. Ripon Christian was set to visit No. 2 Casa Roble in the semifinals Tuesday. Division VI No. 2 Sacramento Waldorf 60, No. 7 Foresthill 54: Despite a back-and-forth battle, the Wildfires were unable to pull an upset on the road Friday night against Central Valley California League rival Sacramento Waldorf in the quarterfinals. The Waves (26-2) took the lead on a 3-pointer by Jayden Palmer Anthony late in the first quarter and led the rest of way despite several pushes by the Wildfires season (16-13) and were set to host No. 3 Vacaville Christian in the semifinals Tuesday.