Colfax clamps Escalon, advances to D4 semis

One of the most memorable moments of Devin Ginty's basketball playing career came on a stage far bigger than a Sac-Joaquin Section playoff game. As a member of the University of San Diego in 2008, Ginty helped the Toreros seal an upset of No. 4 UConn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Nearly two decades later, the Colfax head coach still carries that perspective with him. So when the fourth-seeded Falcons found themselves in a tight fourth-quarter battle with No. 12 Escalon on Friday night in the D-IV quarterfinals, Ginty understood exactly how dangerous an underdog with momentum can be. "We talked before the game about Escalon being confident coming off a buzzer beater and an upset," said Ginty. "We wanted to come out strong and squash that as best we could. In the playoffs, every possession just matters so much more." Colfax led by one with under two minutes to play then closed on a 14-2 run for a 62-50 victory, clinching a berth in the semifinals and securing a spot in the state tournament. Colfax (23-7) built an early advantage but didn't shake Escalon (18-12) until the final surge. Defense paved the way down the stretch, with Sylas Lotito delivering a steal and a block in the closing minute. While Colfax's defense supplied the stops, sophomore Marek Satterlee delivered the dagger. With the Falcons clinging to a 51-50 lead and neither offense able to convert, Satterlee drifted to the corner as the offense broke down. He wasn't the first option, and maybe not even the second, but when the ball found him he was ready, burying a 3-pointer that brought the Ron Pucci Pavilion to its feet. "Normally on those plays, I let the guards do their thing and I kick it out to one of the other shooters," Satterlee said. "But I did my thing. I found the open spot, perfect spot, perfect timing and knocked it down." The triple pushed Colfax ahead 54-50 with just over a minute remaining and ignited the Falcons' decisive run. Moments later, Satterlee stepped to the free-throw line and calmly buried two more, stretching the lead and draining the remaining life from Escalon's comeback hopes. Satterlee finished with 12 points, including five in the most pivotal stretch of the game. Lotito led the Falcons with 14 points, while Caleb Lynch scored 12. Kyler Simpton had 11 points, and Carson Lynch dished out five assists. The victory sent Colfax to the semifinals and secured the program's first state tournament berth since 2018. "It means a lot to get in the state tournament, especially for Colfax. It's been a while," Satterlee said. "I'm really proud of how far we've all come together. It's just a family out here, and we all love each other." Ginty said it was important the Falcons not lose track of the task at hand, as they were set to visit No. 1 Natomas in the semifinals Tuesday with a trip to Golden 1 Center on the line. "For us, it's just one game at a time," Ginty said. "We've got a group that loves basketball so much, so it's more about we just want to play one more game of basketball. It's a huge accomplishment to get to that state tournament, but we've got some other goals. After the season, that'll be something we can reflect on. Right now, we're going to stay hungry for the next round." Satterlee echoed Ginty's statement, noting Colfax would shift from trying to fend off the underdog in the first two rounds to being the underdog against the top seed. "We're going to approach it the same," said Satterlee. "In the next round, we really got to battle. We have to stay physical and we've got to make all the right decisions."