CLOVERDALE >> The Clear Lake Cardinals won’t have long to wait to see how they match up against two-time defending North Central League I boys basketball champion Cloverdale.
Clear Lake outlasted Anderson Valley 90-69 on Thursday in the opening round of the John McMillan Holiday Invitational at Cloverdale High School and will meet the tournament-host Eagles tonight at 8:30 p.m. in the semifinals.
Anderson Valley and Clear Lake combined for 72 points in the first half, with the Cardinals taking a 39-33 lead into the locker room.
“We gave Anderson Valley a lot of second-chance points in the first half,” Clear Lake coach Scott De Leon said. “We were scoring with them, but the defense needed some work there.”
And the Cardinal defense responded in the third quarter as Clear Lake outscored the Panthers 27-16 in the period to open up a more comfortable 66-49 advantage.
Several players stood out in the second half, according to De Leon, including Austin Davis and Danny Beard.
“Davis came off the bench and sparked us on the defensive end with some big rebounds,” De Leon said. “He scored all seven of his points in the second half.”
Beard’s 14 points over the final two quarters – 12 of them in the fourth quarter alone – put the game out of reach.
“He caught fire and our guys kept feeding him the ball,” De Leon said of Beard’s scoring surge, which included three 3-pointers.
Max De Leon led all Clear Lake players with 27 points, including 10 in the pivotal third quarter.
Ryan Damiata added nine rebounds and eight assists to go along with his six points and center Lucas Stahr, who sustained a broken bone in his hand on the first day of practice, made his season debut and scored seven points.
“I’m really excited to have him back,” De Leon said.
Tanner Hutton joined teammates De Leon and Beard in double figures with 15 points, including three 3-pointers.
In other boys tournament action Thursday:
Lower Lake 59, Live Oak 56
At Live Oak, four Lower Lake players scored in double figures as the Trojans beat Live Oak to reach tonight’s championship game in the Live Oak Tournament. Lower Lake will play either Mira Loma or Corning for the title at 6 p.m.
Hokulani Wickard led another balanced scoring attack by the Trojans (3-2) with 16 points. Right behind him were Jordan McGrath with 12 points, Logan Carlson with 11 and Ethan Watson with 10.
“I’ve got a deep team right now and I’m trying to figure out a rotation that works the best for us, and I’m finding it challenging,” Lower Lake coach Shannon Tubbs said of his 16-strong roster. “Right now we’re just struggling to find continuity.”
One of the strengths of the team in the early going has been its scoring balance, according to Tubbs.
Although the Trojans were careful with the basketball against Live Oak, committing only six turnovers, there wasn’t a lot of ball movement such as the night before in a 62-48 win over Hamilton City.
“We played a lot of one-on-one basketball tonight, which is what I don’t want,” Tubbs said. “We had only eight or nine assists.”
Girls basketball
Upper Lake 55, Potter Valley 21
At Potter Valley, Natalie Karlsson scored 21 of her team-leading 28 points in the first half, including 16 in the first quarter, as the Upper Lake Cougars hammered tournament host Potter Valley in the opening round of the Potter Valley Tournament.
“She was very determined to get the tournament off to a good start,” Upper Lake coach Mike Smith said of Karlsson, a four-year varsity veteran. “But she was still looking to deal,” Smith added of Karlsson’s team-high eight assists.
Upper Lake led 18-6 after one quarter and never looked back while jumping above the .500 mark for the first time this season. The win was the third straight for the Cougars (3-2).
Many of Karlsson’s assists went to teammate Liliana Roman-Ibey in the second half when Ibey scored all 14 of her points. Kejhana Taylor added four points but also had a team-best seven blocks to anchor the Upper Lake defense.
“She definitely contributed on the defensive end,” Smith said of Taylor. “That was pretty impressive.”
Karlsson’s 28 points pushed her above the 1,200 mark for her career. She is only the 16th Lake County player – and the third from Upper Lake – to score that many points.
Upper Lake plays St. Bernard’s of Eureka in the semifinals today at 4:30 p.m.
Lower Lake 46, St. Helena 20
At St. Helena, Aleia Milano’s 23 points and solid play off the bench from Elizabeth Ingalls powered the Lower Lake Trojans to a first-round win over the St. Helena Saints in the Sutter Home Tournament. The Trojans were originally scheduled to open against Berean Christian of Walnut Creek, but the Eagles dropped out of the tournament, leaving host St. Helena to fill the void.
“They all played like they were hung over from last night,” Lower Lake coach Dave Milano said of a physically draining 78-62 non-league loss to St. Patrick/St. Vincent on Wednesday night in Vallejo. “Outside of Aleia, we didn’t shoot the ball very well.”
Milano had four of the Trojans’ five 3-point field goals and was the only Lower Lake player to score more than six points.
Ingalls added 10 rebounds and four points off the bench to give Lower Lake a lift.
“She really seems like she’s coming into her own,” Milano said of Ingalls.
Jolean Scarborough also played well, according to Milano. She finished with seven rebounds and six points in limited minutes.
Lower Lake led 22-7 at the half. After using very few reserves a night earlier against St. Patrick/St. Vincent, Milano said he went to his bench often against St. Helena.
“We kind of rotated everyone through and got everyone playing time,” Milano said.
Lower Lake meets Benicia tonight at 8 p.m. in the semifinals.
San Leandro 43, M’town 40
At Antioch, unable to hold a seven-point lead in the third quarter, the Middletown Mustangs fell to San Leandro in the opening round of the Antioch Tournament.
The Mustangs face Acalanes in the consolation semifinals today at 5 p.m.
“We gave one away we should have won,” Middletown coach Anthony Bazzano said. “Our lack of varsity game experience got to us tonight.”
In a game that was close throughout, San Leandro cut a seven-point deficit to just one — 28-27 — by the end of three quarters, then outscored Middletown 16-12 in the final period to pull out the victory.
“After getting that seven-point lead we kind of mentally broke down for the next five or six minutes,” Bazzano said. “Unforced errors, some silly turnovers and missed layups.”
Abby Aden’s 18 points point led the Mustangs (0-2) while Makenzi Smith and Katie Miinch added seven apiece.
