Upper Lake closes out league play Monday at home against Middletown
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UPPER LAKE >> While the first meeting between these two teams was airtight, the rematch was pretty much all Upper Lake as the undefeated Wildcats rolled to a 55-38 victory over Eagle Peak in a middle school non-league A-level boys basketball game Thursday night in Upper Lake.
The Wildcats, now 12-0 on the season, edged Eagle Peak 35-32 earlier this season.
“I’m so proud of how both teams handled themselves this time around,” Upper Lake head coach Dani Paige Gudmundson said. “The focus stayed on basketball, competing hard, and not getting caught up in anything else. That’s maturity.”
After scoring 25 points in the first half, the Wildcats broke the game open with a 22-point third quarter while building a 47-23 lead.
“We started out a little timid and out of our usual fast-paced rhythm, but by the second quarter we began to settle in,” Gudmundson said. “The third quarter is where it really clicked. That shift in confidence made all the difference.”
Cayden Beecher led the Wildcats with 12 points while also pulling down five rebounds and collecting five steals. Xielan Florez added 10 points, five rebounds and five steals, Cam Allison finished with eight points, 11 rebounds and three assists, Gage Schramm had seven points, Dezmond Solomon contributed seven points, 13 rebounds and three assists, and Jose Delgado Beecher had five points, three rebounds and three assists.
Upper Lake honors its eighth-graders on Monday during the team’s final home game, a league contest against Middletown. The Lake County Junior High Athletic League postseason Tournament opens Thursday.
“We’re hoping to hold onto that No. 1 seed,” Gudmunson said.
