LOWER LAKE — In the end the Middletown Mustangs just had too much firepower for the Clear Lake Cardinals.
After struggling through a cold-shooting first half against Clear Lake and trailing 26-23 at the intermission, Middletown began to warm up in the third quarter. By the final period, it was all Mustangs as they scored a 69-53 knockout blow to claim the junior varsity championship in the 15th annual Record-Bee Hoop Classic on Saturday at Lower Lake High School.
Both teams rolled past the opposition earlier in the week to bring 3-0 records into the final round of the round-robin tournament. Middletown had also beat Clear Lake earlier in the month to claim the title at the Clear Lake Tournament. This time around, the Cardinals put up much more of a fight and had a five-point lead on two occasions, including early in the third period.
That”s when Middletown point guard Jereomy Hoefer, held scoreless in the first half and so frustrated at one point that he slugged the hardwood floor with his right hand, got rolling with eight points in the period and 14 in the second half overall. His transition layup with three minutes left in the quarter put Middletown ahead to stay at 38-36. He scored again seconds later to make it 40-36.
A Bo Sheffer bucket, a free throw by John-Wesley Davis and another Sheffer basket, made it 45-36 with a minute left.
A 13-2 run by Middletown midway through the fourth period put the game out of reach and it was a 3-pointer by Sheffer, later named tournament MVP, that pretty much ended it as the Mustangs moved out to a 66-48 advantage with four minutes remaining.
Sheffer finished with 24 points and Chris Oatman added 16, of which 12 came in the first half when no other Mustang player could find the range with any consistency.
Kyle Donald and John Glazier led the Cardinals with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Kelseyville 66, Lower Lake 59
In what amounted to the third-place game of the Hoop Classic, Max Huff poured in 21 points and Dustin Thaxton added another 19, including four 3-pointers, to propel the Kelseyville Knights to victory and a 2-2 tournament record.
Gage Carlson”s 19 points and 12 more by E.J. Jermany led Lower Lake, which finished 1-3.
Kelseyville gradually pulled away from Lower Lake. The Knights led 27-26 at halftime and 46-44 after three periods.
