Middletown holds off Lower Lake 66-65 in thriller at Lower Lake
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ST. HELENA >> In a game close most of the way, the Kelseyville Knights knocked off the St. Helena Saints, 52-44, Tuesday in St. Helena to take over sole possession of first place atop the North Central League I varsity boys basketball standings.
Kelseyville improved to 3-0 in NCL I play and 5-8 overall behind a balanced scoring attack that featured 11 points apiece from Gordon Astrup and Jair Inostroza Carrillo, another eight from Jacob Amendola, and seven from Riley Lopez.
The Knights led 9-8 after one quarter and 22-19 at halftime. They opened up as much as 11-point lead in the third quarter and a 10-point cushion in the final period before St. Helena (1-2 league) closed the gap.
“They hung in there the whole way,” Kelseyville head coach Chaze Russell said of the Saints, who tied Middletown for the league title a year ago.
Kelseyville held a cushion of five to eight points throughout much of the fourth quarter thanks to its success at the foul line late in the game (10-for-16 on the night).
“St. Helena would hit a three, foul us, but we made most of our free throws,” Russell said.
Kelseyville’s first-year varsity coach gave high marks to his defense.
“That’s better than what we have been doing,” he said of limiting the Saints to 44 points on their own floor.
The Knights also held their own on the boards where Astrup and Amendola each pulled down seven rebounds while Lopez and Ryan Keithly each had six.
“We still need to work on some things,” Russell said.
On leading the league with a roster that has only one returning player (Lopez) from last season’s playoff squad, Russell said it’s a testament to his team’s hard work to this point.
“It does feel good at this point,” Russell said. “But I told the guys it’s one game at a time. It’s a long season, a long road.”
Kelseyville hosts Upper Lake as part of a four-game set between the two schools Friday.
In the junior varsity game, Kelseyville (2-1) dropped its first league game after missing a pair of wide-open 3-pointers in the closing seconds against St. Helena (2-1).
The Knights were trailing 50-48 at the time, and both of the 3-pointers “rattled in an out,” according to head coach Stan Weiper.
A steal by Chris Salmina with 18 seconds left gave the Knights the opportunity to win the game, according to Weiper.
“We just did not play well,” Weiper said of his team’s overall effort.
A play that turned out to be critical in the game was a 3-pointer St. Helena hit near the end of the first half, the result of Kelseyville’s defense leaving the player uncovered.
“I knew it would come back to haunt us and it did,” Weiper said.
Darin Sprague’s 22 points led the Knights while Hugh O’Boyle added nine.
Weiper said he looks for the NCL I race to be a dogfight until the very end as most of the team’s in the league are close in talent.
Middletown 66, Lower Lake 65
At Lower Lake, a nine-point lead down the stretch for the Middletown Mustangs evaporated in a span of three 3-pointers as the Lower Lake Trojans just missed knocking off the defending NCL I champions.
“This is the most competitive I’ve seen the league,” Middletown head coach Jake Diehl said of this year’s NCL I race. “They’re no joke,” he added of the Trojans (1-2, 6-7). “They’re well coached.”
While the Trojans were able to make a run at the Mustangs in a game where both teams played one dominant quarter, it was the free-throw shooting of Harrison Brown that ultimately saved the day for Middletown as the junior went 3-for-4 at critical moments late in the fourth quarter.
“We played the foul game at the end and they (Mustangs) hit their free throws,” Lower Lake head coach Jay Jakubowski said.
An offensive rebound and putback by Middletown center Emmitt Lloyd down the stretch was another big blow for the Trojans, according to Jakubowski.
Lower Lake outscored Middletown (2-1, 8-6) 22-10 in the second quarter to open up a 32-25 halftime lead. The Mustangs answered with a 25-12 third quarter to push in front 50-44 entering the final period.
Both teams had double-digits leads at one point.
“First time we’ve come back from a deficit this season,” Diehl said. “We’ve either blown teams out or been blown out.”
Brown finished with 19 points and Jon Hawkins 18 to lead Middletown. Willie Tadder and Lloyd joined them in double digits with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Tadder and Lloyd carried the scoring load in the fourth quarter for the Mustangs.
“And they were all big shots,” Diehl said.
Sophomore Noah Hakala of the Trojans led all scorers with 25 points despite missing most of the first half with an eye injury sustained in the first quarter. He scored seven points late in the second quarter and had the other 18 in the second half.
“Noah had a big game tonight,” Jakubowski said. “He spent most of the first half with his eye shut and with ice on it.”
Hakala also had 10 rebounds.
Zack Sanders added 12 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, while Brody Shields and Raijhier McKneely had nine points apiece. Shields finished with three 3-pointers and McKneely two. Shields and McKneely each had five rebounds.
Lloyd pulled down 16 rebounds for Middletown while Hawkins had 10. Leland Pike added eight rebounds and four steals.
In JV action, Middletown beat Lower Lake 59-15 behind 17 points from Jovial Najd, 13 from Cody de Jong, and nine from Lucas Hernandez.
“Our defense was phenomenal,” Middletown head coach Mike Myers said of his team’s first league win. “It was just nice to see. We’ve been having some energy issues, but not tonight.”
De Jong had eight rebounds and four steals to go along with his 13 points. John Finney added six points, six rebounds and five steals.
Both teams are 1-2 in league play.
Lower Lake scoring was not reported.
Cloverdale 69, Upper Lake 63
At Cloverdale, in a battle of two teams looking for their first league win, that honor went to the host Eagles.
In a game that was a tale of two halves, Upper Lake (0-3, 5-8) built a 35-24 halftime lead while Cloverdale (1-2) dominated the second half 45-28.
“We fought had,” Upper Lake assistant coach Thomas Santana said. “Our starting five all scored in double digits.”
Tj Malicay and Landen Robinson led the way with 14 points apiece followed by Shawn Way with 12, Wyatt Hallman with 11 and Gage Faalelea with 10.
“Little things we need to fix in order to not have these close losses anymore,” Santana said.
Upper Lake visits Kelseyville on Friday as part of a four-game set between the two schools.
In the JV game, Cloverdale beat Upper Lake 50-34.
“Our offense couldn’t get anything going in the first half but woke up for the second half,” Upper Lake head coach Wyatt Hensley said. “We had some good steals on defense today.”
Chase Noble’s 14 points powered Upper Lake. Brayan Vasquez added five ponts and Emmanul Tapia Barriga had four.
Upper Lake is 0-3 in league play and 0-7 overall.
Fort Bragg 64, Clear Lake 53
At Lakeport, the Fort Bragg Timberwolves improved to 2-1 in the NCL I standings by handing Clear Lake (2-1, 7-7) its first league loss and sixth straight defeat overall.
Scoring and other game details were not reported.
In JV action, Clear Lake beat Fort Bragg 44-43 in overtime to improve to 3-0 in the league standings and 10-4 overall.
Scoring was not reported.
Clear Lake’s teams travel to Cloverdale on Friday.
