FORT BRAGG >> Victor Fernandez played much of the game at point guard and helped the Kelseyville Knights overcome injury and foul trouble while beating the Fort Bragg Timberwolves 67-53 in North Central League I varsity boys’ action on Tuesday night in Fort Bragg.
“I thought he played his most complete game of the season,” Kelseyville coach Scott Conrad said of Fernandez, who was pressed into service at the point after Nick Pfann left the game late in the second quarter with an injured wrist and with Brandon Huber on the bench in foul trouble.
“We had to go deep into our bench and the bench did a good job,” Conrad said.
Sambhava Baird scored eight points off the bench and Austin Farris had seven, including a 3-pointer.
Sophomore Kyle Ellis led the Knights (6-3 league, 14-6 overall) with 21 points while Fernandez added nine.
“Coach (Tim) Anderson) gets the most out of his talent every night,” Conrad said of his Fort Bragg counterpart. “It was a dogfight the whole way.”
In other boys’ action Tuesday:
Clear Lake 67
Lower Lake 60
At Lakeport, the Clear Lake Cardinals won their second straight league game, knocking off the Lower Lake Trojans behind 26 points from Stevie Diaz, who scored 22 of those points in the second and third quarters.
“He went off,” Clear Lake coach Scott De Leon said. “We challenged him in practice to pick up his productivity and boy did he.”
Clear Lake (3-6, 8-13) has won three of four — all at home — since opening its NCL I schedule with five consecutive losses.
“We’re starting to play with some confidence,” De Leon said. “I’ve told them all along they’re a good team and I just have to give them all the credit.”
Jared Strate had 11 points for the Cardinals while Ryan Smith and Damian Lopez added 10 apiece.
Lower Lake (4-5, 10-11) also had four players score in double figures, led by Dustin Martin’s 18 points. Mauricio Jauregui finished with 11 and James Clark and Hokulani Wickard each had 10.
The Cardinals took a 54-42 lead into the fourth quarter.
Clear Lake won the junior varsity game 86-61, handing Lower Lake its first league loss.
Middletown 52
St. Helena 44
At Middletown, Cody Chorjel scored 13 of his team-leading 17 points in the second half to spark the Middletown Mustangs in a league win over the St. Helena Saints.
St. Helena (2-7) made a couple of runs at Middletown (5-4, 13-6) in the second half and Ian Bright, playing with a sprained thumb, turned the Saints back both times.
“St. Helena closed to four in the third quarter and he made a real big 3-pointer to make it a seven-point game,” Middletown coach G.J. Rockwell said.
Bright also sealed the victory down the stretch by hitting four of five free throws.
Anthonie Guzman had 14 points for the Mustangs while Bright finished with seven, all in the second half.
“Our defense played real well,” Rockwell said. “We had 17 steals.”
Guzman led the Mustangs with six steals and also had two of the team’s four 3-pointers.
Girls
Lower Lake 50
Clear Lake 47
At Lower Lake, after starting league play 1-6, the Lower Lake Trojans have reeled off three wins in a row, their latest victory coming against the Clear Lake Cardinals. Aleia Milano scored 18 points and Jolean Scarborough added 10 as Lower Lake (4-6, 10-11) put the clamps on Clear Lake’s Taylor Helms, who was held to just two points — and no field goals.
“We hustled and denied her the ball,” Lower Lake assistant coach Dave Milano said.
Aliza Atkins led the Cardinals (5-4, 9-11) with 25 points and Courtney Hiatt had eight.
Milano hit a runner in the lane late in the fourth quarter to make it 50-44. Atkins cut it to three by burying a 3-pointer with 20 seconds to go.
Vanessa John had nine points for the Trojans.
Middletown 52
St. Helena 20
At St. Helena, NCL I leader Middletown tuned up for the league race homestretch with an easy victory over the winless St. Helena Saints (0-9). The Mustangs (8-1, 15-6) have five league games remaining — at home against Kelseyville and Cloverdale and on the road against Clear Lake, Lower Lake and Willits.
Middletown started slow but dominated the game after a 4-4 first quarter.
“We played the way we’re capable of playing after that first quarter,” Middletown coach Anthony Bazzno said.
The Mustangs scored 21 points in the second quarter even with two starters — Ashlyn Welton and Nicole Corsetti — on the bench in foul trouble.
“Which is good news to score that many with those two sitting,” Bazzano said.
Abby Aden led the Mustangs with 13 points despite leaving the game for a time in the third quarter with a rolled ankle.
“She’s tough as nails,” Bazzano said of Aden, who insisted on returning to the floor and did so in the fourth quarter, hitting five of six free throws down the stretch.
Welton finished with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds and Kaleigh Alves had eight points
Upper Lake 54
Technology 43
At Rohnert Park, even without their leading scorer on the season, sophomore guard Natalie Karlsson (elbow injury), the Upper Lake Cougars beat Technology in NCL II play. The win sets the stage for Friday’s first-place showdown at Upper Lake between the Cougars (8-1, 18-3) and the league-leading Sonoma Academy Coyotes (9-0), who beat Upper Lake 66-54 last month in Santa Rosa.
“We’re glad to be home against them,” Upper Lake coach Mike Smith said. “We’ve definitely made some adjustments since the last time we played them. We’re hoping to pack the gym for the game. It’s been a while since we’ve packed that place.”
The Cougars set several goals after going 16-12 last season and among them was winning a league title. Another was finishing with 20 or more wins, something Upper Lake seems well on its way to doing given they have five league games remaining following the Tech win.
Minus Karlsson, who was medically cleared to play against Technology, the Cougars went with Skylar Orozco at point guard.
“Skylar did a good job of feeding those players, getting them the ball,” Smith said of a big second quarter by Autum Martinez, a big third quarter by Jojo Augustine, and a big fourth quarter by LaShaye Taylor.
In a game Upper Lake trailed by as many as 10 points early in the second quarter, the Cougars closed to 23-21 by halftime before pushing ahead by two — 33-31 — after three quarters.
Martinez scored 10 of her 15 points in the second quarter, Augustine had all eight of her points in the third quarter, and Taylor had 11 of her team-leading 17 in the fourth quarter.
“All three of them picked a different quarter to carry us,” Smith said.
Smith said it was decision to sit Karlsson.
“I decided to keep her out and get her extra rest on it (the elbow),” Smith said.
