At first glance, Wednesday’s CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Div. IV boys basketball semi-final game between Colfax and Capital Christian looks like a huge mismatch.

That’s on paper, anyway.

However, Colfax coach Mike O’Connell knows that his top-seeded Falcons will be running into a red-hot Capital Christian squad that has caught fire over the past three weeks.

“I think we’re going to see a team that is peaking right now and we’re not taking them lightly by any means,” said O’Connell. “They’re a team that is playing well right now.”

Colfax, 25-4 overall and the No. 1 seed in the Div. IV ranks, will collide with the surprising Cougars, the No. 13 seed, at 5:30 p.m at Tokay High School in Lodi. The game will follow a girls semi-final between Colfax and Argonaut which begins at 4 p.m.

In the boys bracket, the 9:00 p.m. semi-final game Wednesday matches Modesto Christian (20-8) and Calaveras (23-6) while the 7:30 girls semi-final pairs Modesto Christian and Christian Brothers.

Wednesday’s winners will advance to Arco Arena on Saturday for championship games. The girls Div. IV title game is set for 11:30 a.m. while the boys final is at 3 p.m.

Although Capital Christian’s overall record is only 14-13, the Cougars’ mark is a little misleading. Along the way this season, 11 of the Sacramento school’s setbacks are by seven points or less against decent competition.

The Cougars, who finished second in the Golden Empire League behind Highlands, have won eight of their last nine games and in the playoffs have turned into road warriors with impressive wins at No. 4 Amador, 77-65, and on Friday at No. 5 Central Catholic, 76-51.

In the win at Central Catholic, the sharp-shooting Cougars buried 11 three-point baskets as they raced out to leads of 27-12 after a quarter and 53-25 at halftime.

“They have some different weapons that we’ll have to be concerned with,” said O’Connell. “They’ve shot better than 60 per cent from the field in their two playoff wins.”

Players to watch for the Cougars include 6-3 senior forward Marshall Ruecker (11.9), 6-4 junior center Brian Simmons (9.9), 6-5 sophomore center Ryan Edwards and guards Mike Brill, Trevor Farrington and Matt Donlan.

“They’ve got pretty good scoring balance,” said O’Connell. “We’ve noticed that in the last few weeks they’ve really picked it up on offense.”

Colfax comes into the game riding an eight-game winning streak and has won 16 of its last 17 games including an 81-53 win over Ripon in last week’s playoff opener and a 61-48 conquest of Cosumnes Oaks last Friday in the second round.

While the Falcons have already cinched a berth in next week’s expanded CIF Northern California Regional Tournament, because of their overall record, a win Wednesday could go along way in Colfax securing a home game in the expected 12-team regional field.

“We’re not even thinking about that right now,” said O’Connell. “We’re focusing everything on Capital Christian.”