Clear Lake falls to Mount Shasta at Durham; Lower Lake splits two at Redwood Classic
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KELSEYVILLE >> From 91-37 losers in their final game last season to 78-74 winners on Thursday night at home, the Kelseyville Knights certainly know how to make a splash, and it may have been a historic one at that.
“It felt really good to beat the defending section champions,” Kelseyville varsity boys basketball head coach Oscar Lopez said after watching the Knights hold off the Justin-Siena Braves in a non-league game at Kelseyville High School.
It was the Knights’ first win, and first home win this season after back-to-back road losses to Terra Nova (Pacifica) and McKinleyville, but it also may have been the first time a Kelseyville varsity boys squad has ever beaten the Braves, who demolished the Knights by 54 points a year ago in the opening round of the North Coast Section Division 4 playoffs at Napa. Justin-Siena advanced to the state title game, losing by a point.
“I know it’s not the same Justin-Siena team we played last year, but it’s still a big win for us,” Lopez said following a game in which Brock Barrick (22 points), Kyle Watkins (19 points) and Ryder Leary (11 points) also scored in double digits while Sebastian Chavez (nine points) and Gene Holdenried (eight points) just missed.
“A good first win and first home win for us,” Lopez said as his veteran Knights squad – 11 seniors on a 12-man roster – found the range on 10 3-pointers scattered among seven players.
“We spread the wealth around pretty well,” Lopez said.
Justin-Siena trailed 42-35 at halftime but rallied to go up by six points early in the third quarter before Kelseyville came roaring back to open up a 66-59 lead by quarter’s end, hitting four 3-pointers in the period. The Knights held the lead throughout the fourth quarter, though the Braves hung around the entire time.
“It was a very fast-paced game,” Lopez said. “They pressed us, but we were able to get out and run.”
Chavez scored all nine of his points on 3-pointers, hitting all three of them in the first two quarters.
“Sebastian played a great first half,” Lopez said.
A 20-win team last season when they tied St. Helena for the North Central League I championship, the Knights hardly played a flawless game against Justin-Siena (0-3), but it was an encouraging initial victory of the 2024-25 campaign following competitive losses to Terra Nova and McKinleyville.
“We were still too sloppy, had way too many turnovers, but we are playing better each game,” Lopez said.
Kelseyville returns to action Tuesday at home against Lower Lake in the league opener for both teams.
Justin-Siena won the junior varsity game 51-45. Kelseyville (1-3) was led by Joey Watson with 12 points, Jacob Amendola with 10 and Ryan Keithly with seven.
In other Thursday boys basketball action:
St. Helena Tournament
Middletown 61, Elite 25
At St. Helena, Bodhi Moore’s 23 points, seven rebounds and eight assists powered Middletown to a victory over the Elite Eagles of Vallejo in the opening round of the St. Helena Tournament.
For the second game in a row, Middletown (2-0) used a big second half to break things open as the Mustangs outscored the Eagles 37-5 over the final two quarters, handing Elite (4-1) its first loss of the season in the process.
While Moore found the range on four 3-pointers, teammate Harrison Brown (17 points) hit five 3-pointers to lead the team. Controlling the boards for Middletown were Jon Hawkins and Anthony Bowerman with 13 and 10 rebounds, respectively. Hawkins also blocked 10 shots while Bowerman had seven blocks.
“They were bigger than us, but our guys buckled down and played lights out,” Middletown head coach Jake Diehl said. “I’m proud of the fellas for keeping their composure, making the right plays and finishing strong.”
Middletown plays Sonoma Academy in the winner’s semifinals Friday at 7 p.m. The tournament runs through Saturday.
Herb Jurgentz Tournament
Mount Shasta 61, Clear Lake 49
At Durham, Zane McAuley scored 24 points and AJ Bruch added another 13 as the Clear Lake Cardinals officially opened their season with a 61-49 loss to Mount Shasta in the opening round of the Herb Jurgentz Tournament.
“The team played really hard against a solid Mount Shasta squad,” Clear Lake head coach Mark Cory said. “It felt like a first game, and we got better as the game progressed. There’s lots to clean up, but we made nice strides tonight.”
Clear Lake (0-1) plays Paradise in the consolation semifinals on Friday at 3 p.m.
In the tournament’s junior varsity bracket, Mount Shasta beat Clear Lake 59-47. Noah Clever led the Cardinals (0-1) with 18 points and Ayden Moreno added 15.
“They came out in the third and shot the lights out, ended up outscoring us 25-10,” Clear Lake head coach Shady Cerezo said of a 17-16 Clear Lake halftime lead that evaporated quickly when the second half opened.
“Our defense set the tone early, limiting Shasta to four points in the first quarter and 12 points in the second quarter,” Cerezo added.
Despite the loss, Cerezo said it was an encouraging opener for the Cardinals.
“We’ve got some things we need to clean up and execute better,” he said. “We’re a young team and I feel that we got better today. We got our first-game jitters out of the way, and we’ll be ready tomorrow to play Hoopa Valley.”
Clear Lake plays Hoopa Valley on Friday at 10:30 a.m. in the consolation semifinals.
Redwood Classic
Lower Lake 73, Potter Valley 21
Valley Christian 79, Lower Lake 67
At Boonville, under the leadership of first-year head coach Anthony Farrington, a star for the Clear Lake Cardinals back in the late 1980s, the Lower Lake Trojans officially opened their season by splitting two games Wednesday at the Redwood Classic.
Lower Lake (1-1) returns to tournament action Friday against Mendocino beginning at 3 p.m.
The young Trojans had no problem knocking off the Potter Valley Bearcats in their season and tournament opener, rolling behind the balanced scoring of freshman center Noah Hakala (17 points), junior point guard Jonathan Ventura (11 points), sophomore Hector Murrillo (10 points), senior forward Ivan DeLeon (nine points) and sophomore guard Germaine Cephus (eight points).
“This is a very young team comprised mostly of sophomores and two freshmen,” Farrington said. “We are in the process of rebuilding the program for LLHS. I believe that we will be competitive despite our youth.”
Returning to the court Wednesday evening to play Valley Christian of Roseville, a San Joaquin Section team that has a combined 63 wins the last three seasons and is a perennial playoff contender, the Trojans ran into a deep Lions squad that rotated in fresh legs at regular intervals, according to Farrington.
“They were 15 players deep and during the game at approximately every two minutes they would rotate in five new players,” Farrington said. “They stayed in a man full-court press the entire game. They had a lead most of the game, but in the third quarter at one point we led the game.”
However, Valley Christian was able to wear down the Trojans and push ahead to stay.
“Our team did great given that we have not even had a chance to develop our press-break offense,” Farrington added. “We had difficulty getting into our half-court game, but that will come with experience.”
Hakula led the Trojans with 15 points, Murrillo added another 14 while Ventura and DeLeon each had eight.
“We have a great group of kids this year and I am proud to be called their coach, and I look forward to watching them grow individually and collectively as a team as we rebuild the Trojan program,” Farrington said.
And there is certainly plenty of room for a Lower Lake program that has only 15 wins the last three seasons. The Trojans’ last winning campaign was 2015-16 (14-12). They also went 13-13 in 2018-19.
