Folsom advances to D1 state championship game after 78-68 win over King's Academy

After Folsom's 78-68 win over King's Academy on Tuesday night, Folsom High senior Alec Day screamed "Jack Shull is the greatest basketball player in the world." Surely an exaggeration, but coming off a game-high 30 points in leading the Bulldogs to a Division 1 Nor-Cal championship and a berth in the CIF State Championship game on Friday night at Golden 1 Center, perhaps he's not too far off. "If this isn't my best game ever it's definitely up there," Shull said. "I mean it doesn't get any better than that: Playing for a Nor-Cal championship at home in front of all the fans who support you. It's a spectacular moment and I'm so happy to do it with these guys. "It all comes from the confidence that my teammates have in me. It comes from hard work. I'm so blessed to be with this group. They trust me with everything. I wouldn't want to be doing it with anyone else." Said Folsom senior Jovan Dulay of Shull, "Jack is amazing. He's a lifesaver. We need Jack every night and he's been there for us and we will need him Friday night to win a state championship." Said Parks Weaver, who scored 15 points in the game, about the key to the win: "All playoffs, we've just come together and played as a team. Jack Shull, he was unconscious tonight. Obviously, it was a great team win. We shot the ball very well. Their shooters were getting loose on us, but I think we contained them pretty well." The Bulldogs played a picture-perfect game, leading the entire second half and most of the first half. How Folsom won the game: tremendous defense, good perimeter shooting with 10 three-pointers, running the floor like the Lakers in the 1980s and they were exceptional from the foul line and clutch with the game on the line, making 16-of-18 in the fourth quarter. Folsom led by one point, 32-31 at halftime, but started the third quarter with an 8-0 run to open up the biggest lead of the game at that point, nine points, 40-31. Shull hit a three pointer followed by another bucket and Day then drained a three for his first points of the game to give the Bulldogs a cushion. King's Academy never got closer than three points to the lead for the remainder of the game. Dulay was huge in the fourth quarter, as he scored 12 of his 25 points in the final eight minutes, including making all 10 free throw attempts he took. "The key tonight, honestly, was our preparation before the game," Dulay said. "We watch hours of film on our opponents. We've got the whole package here with Parks, Jack, Alec and Scotty and I'm really blessed to be on this team. Our defensive intensity, we bring it every night and that's why I love to play with these guys." Folsom High coach Mike Wall was impressed by his team. "King's Academy got after it and they could shoot it and were way better in person than they were on film," Wall said. "They absolutely got after us. The stuff that Oakland and Jesuit got away with against them, we didn't. You've just got to go out and play basketball and these guys know how to play basketball better than any team I've ever coached. "We're fundamentally sound," Wall said of his team. "Everyone can dribble, shoot and pass and it's a joy to coach this team. Everybody can do everything, but they each have their niche and that makes it all gel together. "Colleges are going to get some great basketball players who know how to win games. Coaches look for kids who play with effort, who can execute and kids who have heart and these guys bring it in spades." At 8 p.m. Friday night at Golden 1 Center, the Bulldogs (29-6), the third seed in the Nor-Cal playoffs, will face off against Damien (31-7), the sixth seed in the So-Cal playoffs, for the state championship. "I'm so excited," Weaver said. "It will be great to play at Golden 1." Added Shull, "It's what you dream of as a kid; playing for a section title, playing for a state title. I'm so blessed to be in this moment."