KELSEYVILLE >> Middletown’s Jon Hoogendoorn pulled double duty on the basketball floor Thursday as the 23rd annual Record-Bee Hoop Classic tipped off at the Kelseyville High School gym. He didn’t seem to mind, his hoarse voice notwithstanding.
The smile on his face was a dead giveaway.
Hoogendoorn is never hard to spot or hear when he’s coaching the Mustangs’ junior varsity squad. On Thursday, he also doubled as the varsity coach as Middletown’s teams battled Clear Lake in first-round action. Hoogendoorn was filling in for varsity head coach G.J. Rockwell, who had to make an unexpected business trip to the East Coast. Rockwell was on his way back to Lake County on Thursday, but was unable to make the starting tip-off time of 4 p.m. at Kelseyville.
Hoogendoorn, who is vocal and demonstrative while directing his teams from the Middletown bench, couldn’t have coached in two games that were any different at the start. That they both ended the same way, with the Mustangs winning, explained his wide grin while discussing the results with the media.
The rivalry between the Middletown and Clear Lake JV teams at the Hoop Classic, or anywhere, is considerable. The two schools have combined to win the tournament’s JV division 11 years running, and Middletown took a first step on Thursday toward extending that streak to 12 with a 52-47 win over the Cardinals. Middletown scored the game’s first 13 points, had as much as a 19-point lead late in the third quarter, and then survived a determined Clear Lake rally down the stretch to post the victory.
Minutes later as the varsity game tipped off, Hoogendoorn watched the Mustangs do almost nothing right in the first quarter as they fell behind 14-2. They spent the rest of regulation battling back to tie the game at 39, taking a couple of leads along the way. Once the extra period kicked in, Middletown took control of the game and won it, withstanding a buzzer-beating, half-court 3-pointer by Clear Lake’s Tanner Hutton to prevail 54-52.
Also filling in
While Hoogendoorn was filling in as Middletown’s varsity coach Thursday, former Clear Lake varsity boys head coach Paul McGuire subbed for Clear Lake’s Phil Psalmonds (on vacation) in the JV game against Middletown. McGuire’s son, Brady, plays for the JV Cardinals and won the Hoop Classic MVP award a year ago.
Getting hot late
Clear Lake’s varsity squad, which is known for its outside shooting, struggled mightily against Middletown. The Cardinals didn’t have a single 3-pointer until the overtime period when Hutton made three. He just missed from the top of the key with the score tied at 39 at the end of regulation.
Quite the quarter
Trevor LaFave of the Middletown varsity scored 21 points in the win over Clear Lake. Thirteen of them came during an 18-7 third quarter that put the Mustangs in front 35-33. At one point he scored 11 straight Middletown points.
Bending the arc
Kelseyville and Lower Lake combined for 17 3-pointers in the late varsity game Thursday as Kelseyville, the defending Hoop Classic champion, prevailed 74-64. Seven players scored in double digits and two others finished with nine points. Lower Lake’s Ethan Watson had 16 points and four treys for the Trojans.
All-Tourney
Following Saturday’s final game, team awards and All-Tournament teams will be announced for both the JV and varsity divisions. All-Tourney teams consist of one MVP and eight All-Tourney players, including a sixth-man award given to a reserve or part-time starter who greatly contributes to his team’s success.
Team trophies are for first and second place.
