CLOVERDALE >> After taking a brief detour from the win column, the Clear Lake Cardinals returned there Thursday with a 59-40 victory over St. Vincent in the opening round of the John McMillan Holiday Invitational at Cloverdale High School.
Clear Lake (3-1) plays either California School for the Deaf or St. Helena tonight in the winner’s semifinal round at 7 p.m.
St. Vincent, a tall and physical team, used a 23-12 third quarter to take a 43-42 lead into the final period.
“We didn’t shoot very well and missed a lot of close shots,” Clear Lake coach Scott De Leon said. “In the fourth quarter those shots started falling for us.”
Key contributors down the stretch were Tyler Dore and Ryan Damiata, according to De Leon.
“Tyler hit two big buckets and when they (Mustangs) started fouling us like crazy, Ryan went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line,” De Leon said.
Stevie Diaz and Tanner Hutton carried the scoring load for the Cardinals with 24 and 16 points, respectively. Diaz had a big night all the way around with six assists and six steals. Seventeen of his points came in the first half as Clear Lake built a 30-20 halftime lead.
“I need a couple of guys to score in double figures every night and we had that tonight,” De Leon said of Diaz and Hutton, who had three 3-pointers apiece.
Damiata finished with a team-best eight rebounds to go along with his five points.
