LOWER LAKE — Pure and simple, it was strictly Strickler who led the Middletown Mustangs to their second straight 4-0 run through the Record-Bee Hoop Classic boys” basketball tournament.
With his third straight 20-plus-point game, Jake Strickler emerged as the most valuable player of the 13th annual edition of the Record-Bee event while powering the Mustangs to a 61-43 victory over Clear Lake in Saturday night”s final at the Lower Lake High School gym.
“Jake had a great tournament. I think he”s the first kid I”ve coached that brought us that kind of consistency,” said Middletown coach Mike Mullin. “He wants the ball, he”s the captain on the team, he”s a good leader. I can”t say enough about him.”
Mullin saw the Classic sweep as a good springboard into the Mustangs” upcoming North Central League I North campaign.
“Having a senior-dominated group last year, some of these guys didn”t see a lot of time,” Mullin said. “It took us a little while to get a flow going. These guys work hard, they never give up. They”re coming together. These last three or four games we”ve been improving every game. They want to get better, they want to improve and that”s probably it right there.”
Strickler”s 25 points against the Cardinals followed games of 26 and 25 points against Upper Lake and Lower Lake, respectively
The Middletown triumph, which, unlike a year ago, was not entirely expected, was the Mustangs” 14th straight victory over Lake County teams over a two-year span. They had entered the tournament with a mediocre 2-4 record and, until Strickler”s explosive scoring spree, had no dominant player on a par with Josh Gipson, last year”s Classic and season MVP.
Moreover, after leading 20-8 at the end of the first quarter and 34-21 at halftime against a good Clear Lake unit, the Mustangs suddenly lost their edge and appeared to be on the verge of giving up the lead in the last 3 1/2 minutes of the third quarter.
At that point, they watched a 15-point, 36-21 advantage dissipate into a tie at 38. The Cardinals wiped out the Middletown lead with an 18-2 run, including 12 unanswered points constructed on five straight field goal conversions. Middletown contributed to the run by turning the ball over four straight times, three times on unforced turnovers.
A pair of free throws by Sam Fiddler with 3:14 left in the third reestablished the Mustang lead and, as it developed, put them on top to stay.
“We had that one little spell where we got some good shots inside and after that we didn”t seem to be able to do anything,” said Clear Lake coach Ken Hook.
“We got a little cold there for a while,” Mullin observed. “We were rushing shots and not taking as good of shots, and on the defensive end they were pounding it inside. We had to deny the post and bring weakside help so they couldn”t get that lob.”
The Cardinals were nothing if not inconsistent. In their last two games they played alternately good and bad ? if not terrible ? quarters.
In the first quarter on Saturday night, they turned the ball over eight times and launched only six shots.
In the decisive fourth quarter, Clear Lake turned the ball over on its first four trips down the floor, missed on 10 straight shots and did not score a point until Ben Valdovinos sank three straight free throws in the last 1:33, by which time the issue was well out of the Cards” reach at 53-38.
“The difference in the game was on the boards,” said Hook. They out-rebounded us both offensively and defensively.”
On the strength of board play by 6-foot-4 Tyler Hunt, who chipped in 10 points, 6-foot-8 Andrew Djernes who had eight points, and the 6-foot-3 Strickler, the Mustangs held a dominating rebounding edge. Both Hunt and Brandon Breeden earned Classic all-tournament team honors.
Last year, Middletown used its success in the Classic to mount a 20-win season. But Mullin was only cautiously optimistic over how the repeat will factor into this season.
“I think this gives us good momentum going into our league,” he said. “But our league is very competitive. I don”t think anyone can really call it. Fort Bragg and Willits are both going to be really tough games and obviously Lower Lake, which could have gone either way with us.”
The Trojans gave Middle-town its stiffest test in this year”s classic.
Much will depend on Strickler”s ability to continue at Classic scoring levels. He had been inconsistent at best in his pre-tournament games.
“He was not hitting them (field goals). They went in and out. It was not like he was missing them by a mile. He was just off. We knew it was going to come,” Mullin said.
“I was getting closer shots and not bombing (shooting from the perimeter),” Strickler said of his play in the Classic. “With the closer shots I had a higher percentage. I got more confidence and when I keep driving good things happen.”
In the late varsity game Saturday:
Lower Lake 58, Kelseyville 35
Hoop Classic host Lower Lake nailed down third place in the tournament standings with a dominating win against the Kelseyville Knights, who finished 0-4 for only the second time in Hoop Classic competition.
The Trojans dominated the first two quarters and led 37-16 at halftime.
Matt Parks, one night after winning both the varsity free-throw and 3-point contests, connected on five 3-pointers and finished with a team-best 17 points to lead Lower Lake. Jeff Wilder added 16 points and was later named to the All-Tournament team along with Kevin Freeman, who added seven points. Mike Deakins had eight points for the Trojans.
All-Tournament selection Isaac McQueen led the Knights, who are winless in six games this season, with 12 points.
