KELSEYVILLE >> Tanner Hutton’s 3-pointer from near half court threaded its way through the net as time expired in overtime, but it wasn’t enough to beat the Middletown Mustangs, who rallied from a 14-2 first-quarter deficit to edge the Clear Lake Cardinals 54-52 on Thursday night during first-round varsity action at the 23rd annual Record-Bee Hoop Classic in Kelseyville.
It would have been a different story for the Cardinals had Hutton’s 3-point try as time expired in regulation found the mark, but his shot from the top of the key hit the front iron and bounced back as the buzzer sounded, leaving the two teams tied at 39.
Middletown took charge early in the overtime as Luke Holt hit a 3-pointer. Thomas Cook then came up with a steal and scored to give the Mustangs a 44-39 lead. They went up by as many as seven points before Clear Lake made one last desperate charge fueled by a pair of Hutton 3-pointers. The junior guard scored nine of his 15 points — all on 3-pointers — in the overtime.
Middletown countered with a 21-point night from senor forward Trevor LaFave, who scored 11 straight points for the Mustangs and 13 overall during an 18-7 third quarter that put Middletown in front 35-33.
Both teams struggled mightily on offense in the fourth quarter and both had chances to win it in regulation but couldn’t do it.
“It’s just a hard-working group,” said Middletown coach Jon Hoogendoorn, who was filling in for head coach G.J. Rockwell (away on a business trip). “We put ourselves in a big hole in the first quarter but fought all the way back. There are no secrets with this group. We’re gonna play hard and fight you all the way.”
Clear Lake coach Scott De Leon said the Cardinals played hard, but simply couldn’t put it all together.
“The game comes down to effort and execution. It’s the execution, the turnovers and being outhustled that killed us. We need to be better.”
Center Lucas Stahr scored all 12 of his points in the first half for Clear Lake, but Middletown’s defense shut him out the final two quarters. Austin Davis had 11 points for the Cardinals.
Cook (18 points) and Holt (11 points) joined LaFave in double digits. They combined for 50 of the Mustangs’ 54 points.
In the late game Thursday:
Kelseyville 74, Lower Lake 64
A 14-4 Kelseyville run in the third quarter pushed the Knights ahead 58-54 by quarter’s end and they went to beat the Lower Lake Trojans, who held a 39-38 lead at halftime.
“They (Trojans) dictated the tempo in the early part of the game,” Kelseyville coach Scott Conrad said. “I thought we did a better job of controlling the tempo in the second half.”
The two teams combined for 17 3-pointers and seven players finished in double digits. Kyle Ellis led the Knights with 16 points, Logan Barrick added 15 and Trey Conrad had 13. For Lower Lake, Logan Carlson and Ethan Watson each had 16 points while Jordan McGrath finished with 11 and Hokulani Wickard had 10.
Conrad said the play of Scott Sanchez helped turn the game in Kelseyville’s favor in the second half. Sanchez pulled down 11 rebounds to go with his nine points.
“And he didn’t play a lot of minutes,” Conrad said.
Kelseyville is trying to win the Hoop Classic for a second straight year, something it has never done before. Conrad said he won’t look ahead any farther than tonight’s game against Middletown.
“One game at a time,” he said.
Lower Lake draws Clear Lake in the early varisty game today. In between varsity games today, the free-throw and 3-point contests will be held.
With his 16 points on Thursday, Ellis pushed his career total to 1,183. He should be among the county’s top 10 all-time scoring leaders before he’s through.
Wicklard, who is only a junior, should reach 1,000 points later this season. Two other Lake County players, both girls, are also purusing the 1,000-point mark — Kelseyville’s Alma Perez and Lower Lake’s Aleia Milano
Ethan Watson led the Trojans with four 3-pointers against Kelseyville. Randy Pfann had nine points for the Knights.
