The West High sophomore boys basketball team advanced to the championship game of the Johansen Tournament with a 85-79 overtime win over Modesto Christian on Thursday in Modesto thanks to 41 points from Andre Bolton.

“He missed 11 free throws and still had 41,” said an elated West coach Derek Sprecksel, whose team outscored Modesto Christian 12-6 in overtime.

Bolton shot 12-for-23 from the line and scored on numerous fast breaks to account for nearly half of West’s season-high 85 points. Marcus Huey poured in 21, including two 3-pointers, while Kyle van Drimmelen added 10 points and, by Sprecksel’s best estimate, “at least 20 rebounds.”

“He was just grabbing them left and right,” he said. “That was the big key inside — he was grabbing a ton of rebounds for us.”

“To be honest, as a player, coach or fan, this is one of the better games on this level I’ve seen or been a part of,” added Sprecksel, for whom 85 points is a record as a coach. “Both teams played their hearts out.”

Today, the Wolf Pack (4-4) will face the winner of Thursday’s Turlock-Johansen contest in the championship at 8:30 p.m.

(S) Tracy 59, Edison 53 (St. Mary’s Tournament)

At St. Mary’s in Stockton, the Tracy sophomores improved to .500 on the year with a six-point win over Edison in the St. Mary’s Tournament.

Alex Alvarez and Preston Mattos both scored 11 points for Tracy (3-3), and Dante Della’ringa added 10.

Jeremy Davis hit two clutch free throws late to seal the win for the Bullpups.

“We played hard,” Tracy coach Paul Pedersen said. “We had a lot of turnovers in the first half, a lot of pressure. We built the momentum up in the fourth quarter.”

Tracy outscored Edison by eight points in the second half to win.

Tracy will face the winner of Thursday’s Stagg-Bethel game in the semifinals at 7 tonight.

(F) Jesuit 55, Tracy 29 (St. Mary’s Tournament)

The Bullpuppies (2-1) fell victim to what coach Kevin Ornellas called “an elite team.”

“They’re bigger, stronger, faster — they’re a top team,” he said. “We’re still a work in progress; it’s going to take time. The boys were outhustled and outsized, but they still played hard.”

Daryl Dancy scored 12 points and Kevin Speer added eight for Tracy.

Today, the Bullpuppies face the loser of Thursday’s Franklin-St. Mary’s contest at 5:30 p.m.

“We’ll try harder next time,” Ornellas promised.

Girls basketball

Tracy 54, Los Banos 42

The Tracy High girls basketball team edged above .500 in the preseason with a decisive 54-42 win over Los Banos in Los Banos on Thursday.

“It was a good character builder,” Tracy coach Mike Granillo Jr. said. “For them still being so young, it was a step in the right direction.”

Stephanie Eubanks scored 13 points, and Katie Stutz added 10. Leticia Deleon drained two 3-pointers and made five of six free throws for 11 points, and Nicole Parks-Powell added eight.

Granillo said the Bulldogs (4-3) encountered foul trouble late so he rotated his players, and he was rewarded with solid scoring from the bench.

“Everyone stepped up and did their job,” he said. “The scoring was pretty balanced.”

Tracy was also menaced Los Banos with a full-court press.

On Monday, the sophomores and varsity play Livermore at home. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. for varsity, 5:30 p.m. for sophomores.

(S) Tracy 48, Los Banos 22

Tai Kagehiro scored eight points and Megan Machado added seven. Tontane Gilbert and Ronnee Peralta both added six for the Bullpups (6-1).

“I thought we put good pressure on the ball and forced the other team to make turnovers,” said Tracy coach Mike Granillo III, whose team led by 19 points — 22-3 — after the first quarter.

(F) Tracy 34, Los Banos 32 (OT)

The Tracy freshmen scored only two points in overtime to Los Banos’ four to drop to 5-2 on the preseason.

Ashlee Vinyard scored nine points, and Nicole Brown added eight. Emily Jerger and Stephanie Diaz both added four.

“We did well to battle back and send the game to overtime,” said Tracy coach Keith Britt, whose team was tied 10-10 at the half but down by six entering the fourth quarter. “We held our composure for a while there, but the shots just didn’t go down in the OT.”

Still, Britt said the game was a good experience and should help the Bullpuppies in their game Saturday at Amador Valley. Tip-off is at noon.