MIRANDA >> Trey Conrad’s strong 2017-18 debut propelled the Kelseyville High School varsity boys basketball team to a season-opening 67-39 victory over the South Fork Cubs on Wednesday night in Miranda.
Conrad, who had 29 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists, is one of the few veterans returning from last season’s 22-6 Kelseyville squad, which won the North Central League I championship. Another is Randy Pfann, who finished with seven points and five rebounds.
“It’s not pretty right now,” Kelseyville coach Scott Conrad said. “We played good all night on offense but our defense was out of sync. Trey and Randy are going to have to carry us in the early going.”
While there is plenty of talent on the Knights’ roster, it’s untested at the varsity level, according to Conrad.
“I think we’re going to have a good team down the line,” he said.
Several of Kelseyville’s players only recently joined the team because of the Knights’ participation in the North Coast Section Division V football playoffs.
“I’ve had one practice so far for the football players,” Conrad said.
One of those football players, Jon Vanderwall, scored 10 points on Wednesday night. “If his hands and feet would have been in sync, he could have had 20,” Conrad said.
The Knights blew the game open with a 26-9 third quarter, which pushed their lead to 55-31 entering the final period.
Kelseyville is off until the start of the Rose City Tournament on Dec. 7 at Maria Carrillo High School in Santa Rosa. The Knights have a tough first-round assignment as they go up against powerhouse Cardinal Newman.
“I think our league is going to be really good again this year and we’ll need to be prepared,” Conrad said of the challenge of playing a tough school such as Cardinal Newman in a tough setting such as the Rose City Tournament.
Adrian Villalobos had seven points in Kelseyville’s win.
South Fork won the junior varsity boys game 58-44.
In other boys basketball action Wednesday:
Junior varsity
M’town 56, Williams 39
In the junior varsity division of the Pierce Tournament, Middletown opened the season with a 56-39 win over Williams, led by Will Chastain’s 14 points.
Aidan Skinner, Cameron Luis and Jorge Fonseca added 11 points apiece as the Mustangs (1-0) earned a winner’s semifinal berth Thursday against tournament host Pierce at 1:30 p.m.
“We’ve got a pretty athletic group,” Middletown coach Jon Hoogendoorn said. “We’ve got a little, young core group. I was happy with their performance tonight.”
Middletown and Williams also played in a first-round varsity game but results were not reported.
