Xielan Florez earns All-Tournament honors for Upper Lake
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CRESCENT CITY >> Upper Lake Middle School’s eighth-grade boys basketball team dropped all three of its games against tough competition Friday and Saturday in the AAA division of the annual Jaycees Tournament at Crescent City.
The AAA division is the toughest in the tournament field as the Wildcats soon discovered. They dropped a 79-49 decision to Redwood-Red Team in the opening round Friday. Xielan Florez led Upper Lake 14 points, Jose Beecher added 10 and Dezmond Solomon eight.
“We were placed in the AAA bracket, which is the upper division, and it didn’t take long for our boys to see why,” Upper Lake head coach Dani Paige Gudmundson said. “The schools were bigger; the kids looked like grown men and could really play some basketball. Even with the size and competition difference, our boys played tough all weekend and worked incredibly hard.”
In the first of two games Saturday, Upper Lake dropped a 56-37 decision to Mariposa despite 16 points from Florez and eight points and 12 rebounds from Solomon.
“The first half was competitive again, but the depth and size of those teams really started to show later in the game,” Gudmundson said. “Dezmond had a strong performance.”
In the battle for seventh place later Saturday, Pacific Union edged Upper Lake 56-54.
“We traded momentum the entire game and ended up losing a close one,” Gudmundson said.
Florez led the Wildcats with 20 points while Cayden Beecher had 12.
“While we ended up finishing eighth overall, the experience was really valuable for our team,” Gudmundson said. “The boys got to see what that upper-division level looks like, and they still competed hard every time stepped on the floor. I’m incredibly proud of their effort and the way they handled themselves throughout the weekend.”
Florez, who is only a sixth-grader, earned All-Tournament honors as well as second place in the AAA Hoop Shoot competition.
“Several coaches were surprised to learn he’s only in sixth grade and were very impressed with his level of play,” Gudmundson said.
