Mustangs carry one-game lead in league race into final week of regular season
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ST. HELENA >> The Middletown Mustangs carry a one-game lead over Fort Bragg into the final week of the North Central League I varsity boys basketball race after dispatching the St. Helena Saints 54-34 on Friday night in St. Helena.
With home games remaining Upper Lake on Tuesday and Clear Lake on Thursday, exactly where the Mustangs (9-3 league, 16-8 overall) finish in the most competitive NCL I race since 1995 is entirely up to them.
“That was the most selfless team basketball we’ve played all season,” Middletown head coach Jake Diehl said of the road win over the Saints (5-7, 9-12), the team the Mustangs tied for NCL I championship last season. “It was beautiful to watch.”
A 19-2 third-quarter surge broke open a competitive game in the first half as the Mustangs corrected several first-half deficiencies, according to Diehl.
“We had to clean up a few things after the first half,” Diehl said. “We were locked ii in the third quarter.”
St. Helena’s press, which caused Middletown some headaches during the first two quarters, was rendered a non-factor in the second half, according to Diehl, who said the Mustangs had no problem breaking it.
Willie Tadder led Middletown 16 points, Harrison Brown added 10, and Jon Hawkins and Nalu Johnson each had nine. Tadder also finished with five assists and four steals, Hawkins had seven rebounds and five steals, and Johnson added eight rebounds and four assists. Emmitt Lloyd pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds to go along with four points.
In the junior varsity game, St. Helena snapped Middletown’s 10-game winning streak with a 36-31 victory. Along with Clear Lake’s 50-47 win over Kelseyville, a logjam now exists atop the NCL I standings going into the final week of the season. Clear Lake, Kelseyville and Middletown are all 9-3 with St. Helena a game back at 8-4. Clear Lake visits Middletown on Thursday in the season finale for both teams.
Middletown is 13-4 overall. Individual scoring was not reported.
In other NCL I action Friday:
Kelseyville 68, Clear Lake 47
At Kelseyville, the Kelseyville Knights (7-5, 9-14) snapped a four-game losing streak in impressive fashion, smacking Clear Lake (6-6, 11-13) to sweep the season series from the Cardinals and eliminate their archrivals from the league race.
Coming off a 32-point, nine-3-pointer night in high previous outing, Kelseyville junior Nick Arredondo led the Knights with 18 points, including five more 3-pointers, and Gordon Astrup finished with 15 points. Riley Lopez (12 points) and Joey Watson (11 points) also finished in double digits, providing head coach Chaze Russell with a balanced scoring attack as the Knights outscored the Cardinals in every quarter.
“That Clear Lake rivalry is always fun,” Russell said.
Kelseyville’s first-year coach said his team’s level of play was back up where it was to begin the league season – the Knights started a red-hot 5-0 before dropping five of their next six.
“I told them to enjoy this win but ready to get back to work 4:30 Monday because we’ve still got two games left and both against tough opponents,” Russell said with a look ahead to Tuesday’s road contest against Cloverdale and Thursday’s long road trip to Fort Bragg.
Kelseyville led 18-10 after one quarter, 38-27 at halftime and 52-36 through three quarters.
AJ Bruch and Zane McAuley’s 13 points apiece led the Cardinals. Ayden Moreno added 12 points.
“We came out flat and couldn’t find our rhythm, and they couldn’t miss,” Clear Lake head coach Shady Cerezo said. “We got to within six points but just couldn’t overcome it.”
Clear Lake hosts Lower Lake on Tuesday.
In the JV battle, Clear Lake forged a three-way tie for first place atop the NCL I standings with a 50-47victory over Kelseyville. Combined with Middletown’s 36-31 loss at St. Helena, Clear Lake, Kelseyville and Middletown are now tied at 9-3, one game ahead of 8-4 St. Helena.
“We just didn’t play well tonight, and Clear Lake played pretty well,” Kelseyville head coach Stan Weiper said.
Chris Salmina’s 19 points, including five 3-pointers, led the Knights (9-3, 12-7). Hugh O’Boyle added nine points and Darin Sprague had seven.
Clear Lake improved to 16-8 overall.
Lower Lake 61, Upper Lake 36
At Lower Lake, the Lower Lake Trojans honored seniors Malakai Morfini and Steven Rich before taking it to the Cougars, who were coming off a 66-58 win over Kelseyville on Tuesday.
Sophomore Noah Hakala’s 18 points and 17 rebounds powered Lower Lake’s attack. Brody Shields added 11points and Zackquez Sanders had 10, including two 3-pointers. Raijhier McKneely contributed seven points and a team-best 14 rebounds.
Upper Lake (3-9, 8-14) stayed closed for a half, but Lower Lake pulled away with a 32-13 second half.
“We rebounded well and limited their multiple-shot possessions,” Lower Lake head coach Jay Jakubowski said.
Lower Lake (5-7, 11-13) hits the road Tuesday to play Clear Lake in Lakeport while Upper Lake visits Middletown.
Upper Lake scoring was not reported.
In the JV game, Roy Percoats scored 18 points and Zane Maninger added 13 as Lower Lake beat Upper Lake 60-48. Aiden Osorio and Bradley Lahr finished with nine and eight points, respectively, for the Trojans (3-9, 9-14).
“Our team played well tonight,” Lower Lake head coach Latoya Fortino said. “We worked on our shooting, and it really showed tonight with many contributions from multiple players.”
Upper Lake (0-12, 0-16) made it a game most of the way, according to Fortino.
“We were able to finally pull away in the fourth quarter,” Fortino said.
Upper Lake scoring wasn’t reported.
