KELSEYVILLE >> Kyle Ellis is locked in and so are the Kelseyville Knights as they head down the homestretch of the North Central League I varsity boys basketball race in sole possession of first place.
Kelseyville maintained its hold on the league’s top spot Saturday night with a 67-46 victory over the Lower Lake Trojans at Kelseyville High School. Another great outing on defense coupled with a solid first quarter on offense propelled the Knights to a 10-1 league mark and 19-4 overall record.
“Our defense was not good early in the first quarter, but it was really, really good the rest of the game,” Kelseyville coach Scott Conrad said. “We did a great job.”
A 22-15 first quarter put the Knights in front to stay. Ean Valenzuela led the way by scoring eight of his 10 points in the opening period.
Kelseyville continued to build its lead from there, pushing its advantage to 39-26 by halftime.
Four Knights scored in double figures. Joining Valenzuela were Trey Conrad with a team-best 18, Randy Pfann with 15 and Ellis with 13.
Ellis, who just missed a triple-double on Thursday in a win over Willits, finished with a double-double that included 10 rebounds, nine on them on the defensive boards. He also had three assists.
“He just lets the game run through him,” Conrad said of his four-year veteran.
Ellis also pushed past 1,400 points for his stellar career and now has 1,408.
Conrad, who led the Knights with five assists, went 7-for-10 from the field while scoring his 18 points.
“We spread it around, which is what we’ve been doing,” Conrad said.
Lower Lake lost its second straight in league play and is now 5-6. Only four Trojans found the scoring column led by Hokulani Wickard’s 20 points and Ethan Watson’s 16. Jordan McGrath added eight.
Kelseyville leads Cloverdale (9-2) by a game in the league standings with three games remaining for both teams. The Knights finish up with a home game Tuesday against Clear Lake (6-5), a road game Friday at Middletown (4-7), and a home game Feb. 14 against St. Helena (5-6).
“We’re not taking anyone lightly,” Conrad said.
