WILLITS — Tim Compton”s steal and assist late in the fourth quarter helped lift the Willits Wolverines to a 59-55 victory over the Kelseyville Knights in a North Central League I North varsity boys” basketball game on Friday night in Willits.
Kelseyville owned a 48-47 lead during a back-and-forth fourth quarter and Nick Schaefer, who had just stolen the ball near midcourt, was racing in for a layup when Compton caught him from behind, stole the ball and heaved a pass down the court to an open teammate for an easy basket that put the Wolverines back on top.
“We were yelling at him (Schaefer) trying to get his attention because we knew Compton was going to catch him and Nick didn”t see him coming,” Kelseyville coach Scott Conrad said.
“That play was definitely the difference in the game,” Conrad said. “Compton made a couple of huge plays for them late in the game.”
Compton also led the Wolverines with 24 points.
Mike Allen and Peter Wotherspoon led the Knights, who are now out of the North race at 3-3, with 15 points apiece.
In other boys” action Friday:
Cloverdale 78, Clear Lake 65
At Cloverdale, Clear Lake fell behind by as many as 17 points in the first half but battled back to give the Cloverdale Eagles a game in NCL I South play. The Cardinals got as close as four points in the fourth quarter before the Eagles (6-0) pulled away.
“We had a great time,” Clear Lake coach Glenn Wienke said. “It was a fun game.”
Ryan Richardson”s 22 points paced the Cardinals (2-3, 14-9) and Corey Dillon added 21.
“That”s probably the best overall game he”s played this year,” Wienke said of Dillon, a senior guard. “He did a great job on offense and defense.”
Middletown 72, St. Helena 37
At Middletown, five Middletown players scored in double figures as the Mustangs hammered the St. Helena Saints in NCL I interlock action.
Dustin Peterson finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds and Johnny Harmyk also had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds as Middletown improved to 7-14 overall.
“Best we”ve played offensively all year,” Middletown coach Mike Mullin said.
Fort Bragg 58, Lower Lake 45
At Fort Bragg, the Fort Bragg Timberwolves improved to 5-1 in the North standings despite a solid effort by the Lower Lake Trojans, who slipped to 0-5 in the North and 4-19 overall.
Forrest Davis led the Trojans with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
St. Vincent 68, Upper Lake 49
At Upper Lake, Forrest Stogner shook up his starting lineup but the Upper Lake Cougars lost to St. Vincent in NCL I South action.
“I started some guys who had never started before and they did a good job for me,” Stogner said.
St. Vincent led 24-12 after one quarter.
No Upper Lake player reached double figures but Jonathan Lopez did have eight points and nine rebounds.
Upper Lake is 1-5 and 8-14.
Girls” basketball
St. Helena 67, Middletown 40
At St. Helena, in an interlock battle matching the NCL I South-leading Saints and the NCL I North-leading Middletown Mustangs, it was all St. Helena.
The Saints, now 19-1, built a 32-16 halftime lead and used a big fourth quarter to put the Mustangs away.
Kelsey Guzman”s 13 points paced the Mustangs (15-6), who had their eight-game winning streak snapped.
Lower Lake 48, Fort Bragg 41
At Lower Lake, Lower Lake converted 10 of 15 shots from the free-throw line to beat the Fort Bragg Timberwolves in NCL I North play.
“That made the difference,” Lower Lake coach Andrew Carpenter said of the Trojans” 67-percent shooting at the line.
Tashee Denson”s 12 points paced the Trojans (2-3, 7-16).
Cloverdale 44, Clear Lake 42
At Lakeport, Clear Lake missed a layup in the final seconds and couldn”t get another shot off before time expired, which allowed the Cloverdale Eagles to escape with a two-point win in NCL I South action.
“We played great defensively and our offense was on,” said Clear Lake coach Jennifer Goff, who turns 30 today.
Jessica Asbury pulled down the offensive rebound on the missed layup but couldn”t get a shot off as the buzzer sounded.
Kaila Sterbank”s 16 points paced the Cardinals (1-4, 8-12).
St. Vincent 43, Upper Lake 41
At Petaluma, a last-second shot rattled in and out at the buzzer as the Upper Lake Cougars came up short in NCL I South action against the St. Vincent Mustangs, who won their first league game.
Katy DeVries led the Cougars (2-4, 7-16) with 14 points, Yessica Ayala and Taryn Re each had 13 and Jackie Lovrin finished with 11.
“I asked some girls to step up tonight and they stepped us,” said Upper Lake coach Donnie Meri, who was short two players because of injuries. “Jackie Lovrin had one of her best shooting nights ever.”
