LOWER LAKE >> The North Central League I varsity boys’ basketball race is still in its early stages but the Cloverdale Eagles are the only undefeated team left after edging the Lower Lake Trojans 60-59 on a John McMillan free throw with .8 seconds remaining on Tuesday night in Lower Lake.
Hokulani Wickard’s 3-pointer moments earlier tied the game at 59-all. On the inbounds play, McMillan ran into Wickard, who was called for the foul. McMillan hit the front end of a one-and-one to break the tie and give the Eagles a 3-0 league record while Lower Lake fell to 2-1 and 7-7 overall.
Lower Lake coach Tim Biasotti didn’t like the call that sent McMillan (20 points) to the free-throw line for the game-winning point. He thought it should have been a charge on McMillan.
“It’s hard to lose a game 80 feet away from the hoop,” Biasotti said. “That game should have gone into overtime.”
The two teams traded the lead back and forth during a fourth quarter that began with Cloverdale clinging to a 44-43 lead.
“I know a lot of people thought Cloverdale was going to pound us, but we’ve taken some steps in the right direction,” Biasotti said. “I feel like we had a great gameplan and the boys executed it. They played their hearts out.”
Dustin Martin led the Trojans with 16 points, Jerod Alexader added 12 and Wickard finished with 11.
Marcus Poe led the Eagles with 22 points.
