NCL I varsity boys basketball race still tied up in knots following Tuesday’s action
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LAKEPORT >> A 21-8 third quarter lifted the Middletown Mustangs to a 74-59 victory over Clear Lake in North Central League I varsity boys basketball action Tuesday night in Lakeport where the Cardinals took a 35-34 lead into halftime.
“We gave them too much room in the first quarter to shoot and they capitalized with five 3s,” Middletown head coach Jake Diehl said as the Mustangs improved to 6-1 in league play and 14-5 overall. “The fellas did a fantastic job adjusting.”
Jon Hawkins had another big game for Middletown with 19 points, 12 rebounds and four steals. Bodhi Moore also had a double-double with 16 points and 10 assists. Anthony Bowerman added 16 points, seven rebounds and five steals, and Harrison Brown had 11 points with five steals.
Zane McAuley’s 17 points powered the Cardinals (4-3, 9-9), Jesse Hayes finished with 13 and Sawyer Smith had 13.
“We played a very good first half and held a 35-34 lead,” Clear Lake head coach Mark Cory said. “Middletown came out in the third quarter and took control of the game. We had way too many turnovers that led to easy baskets for them.”
Added Cory, “The boys battled hard the whole game.”
Both teams are home Friday. Middletown hosts Cloverdale while Clear Lake takes on St. Helena.
Middletown also beat Clear Lake in junior varsity action, 81-66.
“We had a semi-rough first quarter and were slow getting started,” Middletown head coach Andy Brown said. “We had a huge second quarter (30 points). Our star sophomore continues to have an MVP season,” Brown added of Cody Perez, who finished with 28 points. He had five of his eight 3-pointers in the second quarter.
John Finney finished with 22 points and seven steals in Middletown’s win while teammate Valentin Jimenez contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The Mustangs (6-1, 13-5) remain one game behind Kelseyville in the league standings.
Joey Portlock and Gael Moreno scored 17 points apiece for Clear Lake (3-4). Nolan Buffalo added 14.
“It’s hard to win a game when you give up 81 points,” Clear Lake head coach Shady Cerezo said. “We started out good in the first, but Middletown caught fire in the second quarter, and we just couldn’t dig ourselves out of the hole.”
In other boys action Tuesday:
Kelseyville 71, Fort Bragg 57
At Fort Bragg, after putting themselves into a 22-10 hole after the first quarter, the Kelseyville Knights found the right combination of players to mount a big comeback against the Fort Bragg Timberwolves.
“We could not defend,” Kelseyville head coach Oscar Lopez said of his team’s first-quarter struggles. “We went deep into our bench and found a group that got after in on defense.”
Leading the comeback charge were players such as Max Hommer, Sam Arredondo, Adam Astrup and Ryder Leary, according to Lopez.
“They did a great job,” he said.
Kelseyville’s offense also picked up the pace after the opening quarter, and the Knights went on to outscore Fort Bragg 27-5 in the second quarter to open up a 37-27 halftime lead.
Watkins finished with a team-high 15 points while Leary and Brock Barrick each had 13 points. Astrup contributed eight more while Gene Holdenried and Max Hommer had six apiece. Leary scored eight of his points and Hommer all six of his during the turnaround second quarter.
The Knights continued to pull away in the second half as they wrapped up the first half of their league schedule at 6-1, keeping them even with Middletown and St. Helena atop the league standings.
“I think it will come down to the wire,” Lopez said when asked about the league race and the Knights’ final seven league games. “We’ve put ourselves in a good position, but now we just need to take it one game at a time.”
Kelseyville hosts Middletown next Tuesday and is on the road Friday, Jan. 31 at St. Helena. The Knights lost to the Mustangs and beat the Saints during the first half of their league schedule. Until then, they are on the road Friday at Lower Lake.
Kelseyville’s JV team closed out a perfect first half (7-0) with a 52-36 win over Fort Bragg. Jair Carrillo, Nick Arredondo, Ryan Keithly and Jacob Amendola each had eight points for the Knights, now 11-7 overall. Joey Watson added seven points.
Cloverdale 70, Lower Lake 66 (OT)
At Lower Lake, freshman Noah Hakala’s 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation tied the game at 58-58, but the Cloverdale Eagles went on to edge the Lower Lake Trojans in overtime.
Hakala finished with 25 points as the Trojans fell to 0-7 in league play and 2-15 overall.
Trailing 58-55 in the final seconds, Lower Lake brought the ball inbounds with a 3-point play designed for Brody Shields. When that play didn’t materialize, Hakala nailed the game-tying shot.
Cloverdale (3-4) outscored Lower Lake 12-8 in the extra period.
“We changed the lineup tonight and focused heavier on getting boards, and that made a big difference for us,” Lower Lake head coach Anthony Farrington said. “This was the first league game this year where we led in getting offensive and defensive rebounds, which was critical and helped us remain competitive tonight.
“With each game, our team continues to grow and improve. We only rotated seven players on the roster tonight,” Farrington added.
Steven Rich had 12 points for the Trojans, Shields finished with nine and Raijhier McKneely added seven.
Lower Lake hosts Kelseyville on Friday.
Cloverdale also won the JV game, 44-19.
“Tonight was another round one for us,” Lower Lake head coach Latoya Fortino said. “This team has endured much adversity, but to see them come out and continue to play is amazing. We lost four of our starters for different reasons and have been attempting to find our ground again.”
Isac Olvera led Lower Lake (0-7) with nine points and Zach Sanders had eight.
“The score didn’t end as we hoped, however they played better defense tonight than we have in a while,” Fortino said. “We got decent looks on offense, we just couldn’t finish as well as we wanted.”
St. Helena 71, Upper Lake 35
At St. Helena, the Upper Lake Cougars played a competitive first half, but the St. Helena Saints rolled to an easy NCL I win, keeping them tied with Middletown and Kelseyville atop the league standings.
“St. Helena is a good team,” Upper Lake head coach Tony Arroyo said. “They can shoot it good from 3 and they all box out really well.”
Delaney Allison’s 12 points led the Cougars (2-5, 5-8), James Beaux Stiritz had nine and Jerod Rosales six.
“Delaney coming off the bench created issue for them with his offensive boards,” Arroyo said.
Upper Lake is on the road Friday against Fort Bragg.
St. Helena also won the JV game, 65-50, despite 16 points from the Cougars’ TJ Malicay and another 13 from Antario Wyman.
Upper Lake (2-5) took a 31-21 lead into halftime.
“Two halves, two different teams,” Upper Lake head coach Lupeli Faleagafulu said. “The first half we were aggressive, making plays on the defensive side and making our shots. Totally different story in the second half. We scored only four points in the third quarter and were always a step behind on defense.”
Losing Sean Way to foul trouble hurt the Cougars.
“Sean picked up his fourth foul midway through the second (quarter), so he saw limited playing time in the second half, which was a big loss for us on defense,” Faleagafulu said.
Mason Parker scored nine points for the Cougars.
