KELSEYVILLE >> Kelseyville’s pursuit of a title or Clear Lake’s hot streak; something had to give on Tuesday night as the Knights hosted the Cardinals in a North Central League I varsity boys’ basketball game at Kelseyville.
Turns out it was Kelseyville’s title bid that gave way as the Cardinals won their fourth straight league game and their fifth in six tries with a 62-54 victory over the Knights.
The difference in the game for Clear Lake (5-6, 10-13) was a 22-12 third quarter that erased a 26-25 Kelseyville halftime lead.
“We made a little adjustment on defense that allowed us to match up better with them and we also started to hit some shots,” Clear Lake coach Scott De Leon said.
Stevie Diaz scored 11 of his team-leading 23 points in the third quarter.
“They’ve obviously turned their season around after a tough first half and I don’t want to take anything away from them,” Kelseyville coach Scott Conrad said. “We played well the first four minutes … we hit some shots and had some energy, but it came to a screeching halt right there. We were very bad tonight. We didn’t shoot it well, we didn’t call for the ball inside well, you name it.”
The loss drops Kelseyville (7-4) three games behind league-leading Cloverdale (10-1) in the NCL I standings and a game behind Willits (8-3).
Clear Lake lost starter Ryan Smith to an ankle injury in the second quarter but recovered, according to De Leon, thanks in part to solid play off the bench from Kenyon Donald.
“He played good defense in that third quarter,” De Leon said.
Jared Strate had 17 points for the Cardinals, including two of the team’s 10 3-pointers. Diaz had four treys.
All of Brandon Huber’s 15 points for Kelseyville came on 3-pointers. Hunter Beatty added 12 points and Victor Fernandez had 11 as the Knights slipped to 15-7 overall.
