ELK GROVE — A frustrating fourth quarter, during which head coach Dan Gonzalez was unhappy with the officiating, cost the Davis High boys basketball team on Friday as the Blue Devils’ 6-point lead evaporated into a 59-58 loss at Monterey Trail.

Making the situation even more maddening to DHS fans is that the Delta Valley Conference defeat keeps the Devils (15-10, 4-5) out of the postseason.

The locals are now in fourth place and, even with a win in Tuesday’s season finale, cannot catch the top three teams — Grant, Franklin and Monterey Trail (19-7, 5-4) — each of which will advance to the Sac-Joaquin Section tournament.

After being outscored 17-10 in the fourth period up to that point, Davis had the ball with 2.9 seconds left. However, senior Matt Michael was bumped around (with no call) and could not get a shot off.

“It was very questionable officiating,” Gonzalez said. “We were in control of the game.”

The Blue Devils got that control behind a big performance from Brandon Strong, who played through an ankle injury to score 18 points, including three 3-pointers.

“His ankle was pretty swollen but he wanted to play,” Gonzalez said of Strong. “To do what he did on his ankle was incredible.”

But Gonzalez was equally amazed at some of the calls against his team, especially in the final minute. He pointed to an offensive foul call on Strong — who officials said pulled down a Monterey Trail defender while in the process of getting off a shot — and Michael, who was whistled for a push-off despite the fact that the Mustangs were trying to foul him to stop the clock.

Also in the final moments, Gonzalez said the officials took a couple of seconds away from his team on a play that saw MTHS called for a delay of game.

Michael drained four from beyond the arc and finished with 14 points, while  Xander Nelson added 8. Six points from Logan Davis and Ben Prussel, 4 from Brett Bloomfield and two free throws by Ben Crook completed the DHS scoring.

Crook, Bloomfield, Michael and Strong are among the 10 seniors who will be honored by the Devils before Tuesday’s Senior Night game. The contest, against Grant, is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the DHS gym.

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