Darin Sprague scores 35 as Kelseyville JVs drop one in overtime
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HEALDSBURG >> With the better part of two weeks of practice behind them, something the team was deprived of earlier this season because of the school’s extended run in the football postseason, the Middletown High School varsity boys basketball team is playing much closer to the form of last year’s 24-8 squad that reached the NorCal playoffs.
The Healdsburg Greyhounds found that out the hard way Friday night. Despite staying close to Middletown for a quarter, the rest of the game was all Mustangs during a 61-29 non-league victory in Healdsburg. It was the sixth straight loss for the Greyhounds (5-9), a streak that began with a 78-29 loss to Middletown last month at the Redwood Empire Invitational Basketball Tournament in Healdsburg.
Middletown (7-6) climbed back over the .500 mark with one of its better defensive efforts of the season, including a 17-6 second quarter that pushed the Mustangs’ halftime lead to 30-16, and a 17-0 fourth quarter that turned the contest into a full-fledged rout.
“We punched them right in the mouth with defense,” Middletown head coach Jake Diehl said. “It was our defense that kept them on their heels the whole way. All week we have been working on the things that we used tonight. The last couple of weeks have done us a lot of good.”
Emmitt Lloyd’s 17 points and 10 rebounds were a big part of the Middletown attack along with 11 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and four steals from Jon Hawkins. Harrison Brown finished with 12 points, four assists and two steals, and Willie Tadder added eight points.
“All of my kids had a good game,” Diehl said. “They were playing with their heads up.”
Diehl also cited a strong effort from Jasiah Pike, who finished with four steals and two points.
Middletown, the defending North Central League I champion, has 13 regular-season games remaining – 12 league contests and a non-league game Jan. 10 at home against Sonoma Academy. The Mustangs resume league action Tuesday in Lower Lake where both teams bring 1-1 league marks into play. Clear Lake (2-0) and Kelseyville (2-0) share the league top spot going into Tuesday’s round of games.
In junior varsity action Friday, Healdsburg beat Middletown 30-20. No other details were reported.
In other boys action Friday:
Fortuna 54, Kelseyville 38
At Fortuna, minus two of their top scorers, starters Nick Arredondo and Gordon Astrup, the Kelseyville Knights put up the best fight they could before falling to the Fortuna Huskies in non-league action.
Both Arredondo and Astrup were away on family trips, according to head coach Chaze Russell, who said the Knights (4-8) had to somehow function without their top outside scorer (Arredondo) and top inside scorer (Astrup). Jair Inostroza Carrillo helped pick up the slack with a team-best 15 points.
“He did a great job carrying the scoring load,” Russell said. “But as a group we struggled to score points and finish shots.”
With the Huskies playing man-to-man pressure defense the entire way, the Knights struggled much of the night.
“They did a great job of making us uncomfortable,” Russell said of the Huskies’ pressure.
“The other guys stepped up, but we got stagnant and sluggish offensively,” he said.
While Carrillo led the team in scoring, no other Kelseyville player had more than five points – Ryan Keithly, Riley Lopez and Jacob Amendola all finished with five. The Knights did hit seven 3-pointers, including three from Carrillo.
Kelseyville resumes league play Tuesday in St. Helena where the Knights will look to improve to a league-best 3-0.
Fortuna edged Kelseyville 65-62 in overtime in the JV game, outscoring the Knights 8-5 in the extra period after a back-and-forth fight in regulation.
Darin Sprague’s 35 points powered the Knights and Hugh O’Boyle had 19.
“We hung in there with them but just made a few too many mistakes there at the end,” Kelseyville head coach Stan Weiper said.
Kelseyville dropped to 4-4.
Mustang Winter Classic
At Petaluma, Clear Lake beat Willits 38-30 in the opening round before losing to tournament host St. Vincent 56-47 in the winner’s semifinals of the Mustangs Winter Classic at St. Vincent High School.
Clear Lake (8-4) plays St. Helena for third place on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
Against St. Vincent in the semifinals, Gael Moreno led the Cardinals with 13 points, David Marshall added 11 and Gustavo Valadez had 10.
