LAKEPORT — If you’re wondering what the Clear Lake Cardinals have to offer during the upcoming 2018-19 high school boys basketball season, wonder no more.
Clear Lake’s junior varsity and varsity squads are home Tuesday night to face Ukiah in a North Coast Section Foundation Game, which means while the players will be in uniform and the action is officiated, the final results do not count toward the records of either school. It’s an exhibition, a dress rehearsal of sorts, before both teams officially open their seasons. Clear Lake’ s season debut is Nov. 30 in the opening round of the Paul Larrea Memorial Tournament in Lakeport.
The very next day, on Wednesday, the Cardinals will hold two alumni games. In addition to being a fundraiser for the school’s basketball program, the alumni games are all about having a good time as Clear Lake stars of the past return to their old stomping grounds to see how they measure up against the current crop of JV and varsity players. The cost for alumni to participate is $25 and the sign-up fee includes a Cardinals basketball T-shirt. Older alumni will play members of the 2018-19 junior varsity team beginning at 5 p.m. Younger alumni take on the 2018-19 varsity boys team at 6:30 p.m.
The Paul Larrea Memorial Tournament on Nov. 30-Dec. 1 consists of four-team varsity and JV brackets. Varsity participants are Clear Lake, Vacaville Christian, Bentley School of Lafayette and The Bay School of San Francisco. JV participants are Clear Lake, Vacaville Christian, Bentley School and Rincon Valley Christian of Santa Rosa.
In addition to honoring the late Paul Larrea, a longtime counselor and girls soccer coach at Clear Lake, the tournament also will honor the memory of two of the school’s standout basketball players, the late Mark Elsa and Ryan Mayer, who shared the North Central League I MVP award following the 2001-02 season.
The Paul Larrea Memorial Tournament is the first of three tournaments that the varsity Cardinals will compete in this season. They are also entered in the Woodland Tournament on Dec. 6-8 and the Colfax Tournament on Dec. 27-29. Clear Lake opens league play Jan. 2 at Kelseyville.
Clear Lake’s varsity finished 16-11 overall last season, including a 10-4 mark in the North Central League I standings (tied for third).
