Bulldogs make 19 threes; crush Mater Dei

Any baseball pitcher who has ever thrown a perfect game can tell you. Any bowler who has rolled a perfect game or anyone who has hit a hole in one knows what it's like to be perfect. Folsom High's varsity boys' basketball team might have played the perfect game on Monday in the championship game of the Desert Holiday Classic in Rancho Mirage, as they defeated state powerhouse Mater Dei. But the Bulldogs didn't just beat them; the Bulldogs blew them out, 88-46. One look at the score tells you that the Bulldogs shot the lights out and they truly did. Folsom hit 19 three-point shots. That's right, on three-point shots alone; Folsom would have beaten the Monarchs by 11 points, 57-46. Not only did Folsom make 19, but Folsom coach Mike Wall guessed that the team only shot 30 for the game, which is 63 percent. Folsom not only shot the ball well, but they also defended extremely well despite being at a distinct height disadvantage. Wall guessed the Mater Dei blocked at least half a dozen shots that looked like they should have been baskets for the Bulldogs. "We did it with a lot of energy defensively," Wall said. "And then we just started shooting it. It was contagious at both ends and everyone chimed into the party. "The kids took on the challenge defensively and just were swarming and made everything hard for them. We had very few breakdowns and it just created this momentum of energy that became unstoppable." Folsom jumped out to a 24-9 lead after one quarter and by halftime were up 40-19. The rout was on. Mater Dei is coached by a legend, Gary McKnight, who's been at the school since 1982. The school has won 40 out of 42 league championships; has won 24 section championships, 16 regional titles and 11 state championships. The program is one of the best in the nation. "It would be like a football team coming into Folsom and blowing us out," Wall said in comparison to the Bulldogs' win over Mater Dei. "Everyone in the Sacramento area would love it because Folsom has been blowing teams out for years and now they get theirs. That's how this win was for us. Everyone down there was glad to see Mater Dei get theirs." Back to the Folsom offense: Folsom had seven players make 19 threes: Chase Rawlins, Parks Weaver, Joven Dulay, Emerson Santos, LJ Bridges, Scott Nardinelli and Alec Day. "Joven and Chase came out on fire and then LJ and Parks came off the bench and they started lighting it up," Wall said. "When you're shooting the three as well as we did, it creates panic on the opposition where they feel they have to get out on everybody and they start lunging outward. That spaces the floor and opens up other things." Rawlins led the Bulldogs with 25 points, while Bridges and Dulay scored 17 and 15, respectively. Folsom's offense has been scoring a lot of points, and this performance just added to their confidence. "They're shooting it with no fear; it's very impressive," Wall said. "They're not afraid to miss; they expect to make it." Again, Folsom also did it with defense, despite a significant height disadvantage. "We did it with a lot of ball pressure and then our big guys were proactive in making their movements restrictive," Wall said. "We allowed for backside help and made it hard for their big men to pass it." Mater Dei's best player, Luke Barnett, who scored 55 points in the game prior to playing the Bulldogs, was held to 15. Rawlins was the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, while Kaiser Bowen and Dulay were all-tournament players. "It was one of the most cohesive defensive efforts one of my team's has ever had," Wall said. "They were so committed to the job, when they did miss an assignment it was hard to believe. "Alec Day really seized the moment in how well he played in only his second start of the season." The win is one of the biggest in Wall's career. "The section championship games are up there with Tony Johnson's last-second shot being the most memorable, but this win was the most enjoyable in terms of a team's overall performance, playing at a super-high level against a top-level opponent in a game that means something (to win a tournament championship). It was as much of a complete effort that you can see." Folsom's plays Monterey Trail, one of the best teams in Sacramento, Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Folsom High as part of Folsom's New Year's Challenge. On Monday, the Bulldogs open Sierra Foothill League play at home against Rocklin, which is the third consecutive tough team the Bulldogs will face in a week.