POTTER VALLEY — Hitting seven 3-pointers in the first quarter, the Upper Lake Cougars built a big lead early and rolled past the Mendocino Cardinals 61-47 in the championship game of the Potter Valley Tournament on Saturday evening in Potter Valley.
It’s the second straight year the Cougars (9-1) have won the tournament. They took all the suspense out of this one with a 27-10 first quarter.
“We came out and were on fire,” Upper Lake head coach Justin Dutcher said of his team’s red-hot start. “We 14 points after our first five possessions. We had a 17-4 lead when Mendocino finally took a timeout.”
Tournament most valuable player Kenny Hodges led the way with 20 points. Benat Love scored all 12 of his points on 3-pointers and Dylan Armstrong also had 12 points for the Cougars. Luis Avalos finished with nine.
Hank Nevarez joined Hodges on the All-Tournament team.
The Cougars were home on Monday to play Lower Lake. They hit the road Tuesday to take on Calistoga.
In other boys tournament action Saturday:
Clear Lake 80, Woodland 46
At Woodland, the Clear Lake Cardinals scored 50 points in the first half en route to an easy victory over host Woodland in the third-place game of the Woodland Tournament.
One day after suffering its first loss of the season, a 85-43 setback to Albany in the semifinals, the Cardinals returned to the court Saturday with a purpose, according to head coach Scott De Leon.
“We played a really, really good team on Friday night but we still weren’t happy with how we played,” De Leon said of the Albany loss. “We put a lot of pressure on Woodland, shot the ball well, reduced our turnovers and played a much better game.”
Clear Lake (6-1) led 27-10 after one quarter and 50-18 at halftime.
All-Tournament selection Darius Ford led the way with 22 points and did not play in the fourth quarter, according to De Leon. Josh Damiata and Rodrigo Lupercio joined him in double figures with 12 points apiece as did Tj Marcks with 10.
“Everybody got a chance to play and everybody scored,” De Leon said. “It was a good way to end the tournament.”
Albany defeated Oakmont 90-60 in the tournament championship game.
The Cardinals are on the road Tuesday against Maria Carrillo and again Friday against St. Bernard.
El Molino 57, Kelseyville 34
At Healdsburg, Kelseyville led 22-19 at halftime before El Molino used a big second half to beat the Knights in the final round of the Redwood Empire Invitational.
El Molino outscored Kelseyville 38-12 over the final two quarters.
Bodhi Baird’s eight points led the Knights. Tyler Linnell added seven points and Josh Hodson and Nik Helms had six apiece.
Kelseyville is home all this week, beginning with a non-league game on Tuesday against El Molino. On Thursday, the Knights play a first-round game in the annual Stokes Tournament at Kelseyville.
Ukiah 59, Middletown 45
At Healdsburg, Ukiah gained separation with a 20-6 second quarter and beat the Middletown Mustangs in a final-round game at the Redwood Empire Invitational.
Middletown (3-3) went 1-2 in the tournament, sandwiching losses to Healdsburg and Ukiah around a win over Kelseyville.
The Mustangs trailed only 16-13 after one quarter.
No other game details were available.
Middletown opens play in the annual Stokes Tournament on Thursday in Kesleyville.
Willits JV Tournament
At Willits, Kelseyville’s JV squad won all three of its games to claim the Willits JV Tournament title. The Knights beat Point Arena 85-20 in opening-round action Friday, then came back with a 57-55 victory over South Fork in Saturday’s early action. They defeated Upper Lake 53-36 in the championship game later Saturday.
Jake Keithly’s 20 points and 12 more from Cory Holt paced the Knights in their title-clinching victory over Upper Lake. Against South Fork, Keithly also led the way with 21 points while Holt added 15 and Tyler Leary seven. In the win over Point Arena on Friday, Holt lit it up for 25 points, Keithly contributed 16 more, Derek Huggins added 13 and Tyler Leary 10.
Holt and Keithly combined for 13 3-pointers in the tournament.
No All-Tournament awards were handed out this year.
