After defeating #6 seeded St. Elizabeth 72-53 Dec. 2 in the opening round of the Eugene Invitational, the #3 seeded Pintos suffered a 72-61 loss to #2 seeded Blair Oaks Thursday in the semifinal round.
The Falcons led 21-14 after one quarter, 37-32 at the half, and 56-49 after three quarters, then outscored the Pintos 16-12 in the final frame to secure the win.
Dylan Albertson led California with 20 points, nine rebounds and two steals. Jaden Barr had 12 points and three assists. Jerry Lutz had 12 points, four assists and two steals, and Drew Norton chipped in with nine points and had five rebounds.
The Pintos hit 12 of 16 free throws.
"It was a good match-up between rivals," California Coach Blair Scanlon said. "Seven of our top 10 guys played football, so they haven't gotten in as much practice.
Kory Franks led Blair Oaks with 23 points.
California then played #4 seeded Versailles for third place Friday night, where the Pintos suffered a 64-47 loss to the Tigers to finish the tourney in fourth place.
California led in the first half, 12-10 after one quarter and 25-22 at the half, however, the Tigers came back to outscore the Pintos 22-11 in the third quarter and 20-11 in the fourth to secure the win.
"The first half went pretty good," Scanlon said. "They pushed on us in the second half and we had a lot of turnovers. We just couldn't score. I think our legs were wore down because we're not in shape yet."
Albertson led California with 12 points, followed by Barr with nine. Damon Shaw chipped in with eight, and Conner George added six.
Ryan Surface led Versailles with 15 points, while Michael Allen scored 14.
Top-seeded Eugene defeated Blair Oaks 78-74 to win the championship Friday.
The Pintos will play at Russellville Friday night, beginning with the JV game at 6 p.m. and the varsity game to follow.