LAKEPORT >> Since losing to Kelseyville to open their North Central League I schedule, the Clear Lake Cardinals have been playing a pretty good brand of basketball, and you can now add the Cloverdale Eagles to the list of victims that have propelled the team to a 5-1 start.
You can also add a new weapon to Clear Lake’s arsenal, sophomore guard Darius Ford, who moved up from the junior varsity team and contributed a key 3-pointer in a 56-50 win over Cloverdale on Friday night at Lakeport.
Clear Lake (5-1, 11-7) posted a fifth straight league win, a victory that keeps the Cardinals nipping at the heels of the Kelseyville Knights (6-0) as both teams eye a Jan. 26 showdown in Lakeport.
“It was a huge game for both of us,” Clear Lake coach Scott De Leon said of the Cardinals and visiting Eagles, who drop to 4-2. “I’m proud of the effort my team gave me for four quarters. Cloverdale kept coming at us and we battled them.”
Clear Lake was nursing a two-point lead in the final seconds and scored its final four points at the free-throw line courtesy of two Tanner Hutton foul shots and single free throws from Tj Marcks and Rodrgio Lupercio, both hitting the front end of one-and-ones. When Marcks and Lupercio missed their second free throws, Clear Lake came down with the offensive rebound each time, denying Cloverdale a chance to win the game.
“Those offensive rebounds were huge,” De Leon said. “We’d get the rebound and they would have to foul us again, sending us to the line. I think we had three straight in the final seconds.”
Cloverdale led 28-25 at halftime. Clear Lake battled back to go up 40-39 after three quarters.
“(Preston) Jones came off the bench in the third quarter and hit two big 3s for us,” De Leon said. “Darius hit another one.”
Hutton’s 23 points and nine rebounds powered the Clear Lake attack while Jones finished with nine points, all on 3-pointers, and Marcks seven. Marcks and Lucas Stahr each had six rebounds.
In the junior varsity game, the Ford-less Cardinals (5-1) lost their first league game of the season, 62-56, to the Eagles, who were led by Chuche Maciel’s 29 points, including seven 3-pointers. Joey Mendonca’s 20 points powered Clear Lake and Donovan Valdez added 11.
“I think we did some good things,” Clear Lake coach Phil Psalmonds said of the Cardinals’ overall play.
It was only Clear Lake’s second loss in 17 games this season.
In other boys action Friday:
Kelseyville 55, Lower Lake 31
At Kelseyville, call it one for the road because the Kelseyville Knights won’t see their own gym again until Feb. 6. They open a four-game road trip Tuesday in Willits to close out the first half of league play.
“We came out with good energy,” Kelseyville coach Scott Conrad said of the Knights’ victory over the Lower Lake Trojans, who reached double digits only in the first quarter.
“I wasn’t really happy with our team defense in that first quarter but we did a great job after that as the quarter scoring shows,” Conrad said.
The Knights (6-0, 15-3) led 20-12 after the opening period and 32-18 at halftime. They went on a 10-0 run to open the third quarter at which point Conrad emptied his bench.
“We were able to get a lot of kids into the game,” Conrad said. “They played a lot of the fourth quarter.”
Lower Lake (2-4, 6-12) has had to adjust its lineup in recent weeks to accommodate available personnel. The team’s top player, Hokulani Wickard, missed three league games so that he could participate in a football All-Star program in Hawaii. He’s been back for the last two, including Friday’s, and his 10 points led the Trojans against Kelseyville.
“We had to adjust when he left and now we’re adjusting again with him back,” Lower Lake coach Tim Biasotti said. “It’s just a hard struggle when you’re in the middle of your league schedule. It’s not the time you want to change a lot of things. Our flow and chemistry just weren’t there tonight.”
Biasotti said the Knights also had a lot to do with the 24-point difference in the final score.
“They’re the best team in the league,” Biasotti said.
Jon Vanderwall’s 15 points led Kelseyville, Kyle Ashworth contributed 10 more and Randy Pfann had nine points and nine rebounds. Adrian Villalobos (four points, six steals) and Trey Conrad (five points, seven assists) also did their part, according to Conrad.
After Wickard’s 10 points, Lower Lake’s scoring fell off to six from Michael Taliaferro.
Lower Lake won the JV game 45-30.
JV basketball
Middletown 64, Willits 26
At Middletown, Middletown’s JVs improved to 5-1 in league play with a 64-26 victory and will host a 5-1 Clear Lake squad on Tuesday to end the first half of the NCL I schedule.
Justin Hollingsworth led the Mustangs with 13 points, Will Aden added 11 and Tyler Cobb had seven.
Middletown led 21-6 after one quarter and coach Jon Hoogendoorn immediately went to his bench.
“We’ve had a pretty stressful season and it was good chance to play a lot of the guys,” Hoogendoorn said. “I was sprinkling them (reserves) in the rest of the way.”
Thirteen of Middletown’s 14 players reached the scoring column before it was over.
Results of the Middletown-Willits varsity game were not reported.
