MIDDLETOWN — If a 50-25 win over Willits on Tuesday night was indeed Anthony Bazzano’s final home game as head coach, the Middletown Mustangs certainly sent him out in style.
In his sixth season as varsity girls basketball head coach and his 11th season coaching in some capacity at Middletown, Bazzano said he is stepping down at year’s end. The Mustangs close out their North Central League I schedule on Thursday night against Clear Lake in Lakeport before they likely advance to the North Coast Section Division IV playoffs next week as an at-large team. So it’s not quite goodbye just yet for Middletown’s veteran coach, who still has some work to do as do his Mustangs (11-2 league, 17-8 overall) take aim on the postseason.
“It’s time for me to move on and catch up on my fishing,” said Bazzano, who didn’t publicize his final home game because it was also senior night on Tuesday as the Mustangs honored Alyssa Hart, Kassi Agapoff, Hanna Morris, Breanne Jones and Ellie Bazzano, Anthony’s daughter.
“I wanted it to be about the kids, not about me,” Bazzano said. “Those kids have been playing together since they were 7 years old, which is one of the nice things about growing up in a smaller community. A whole lot of blood, sweat and tears have been shared in that gym. The last couple of years have been kind of hard on them, but they’re certainly making the most of their last year.”
While all of Middletown’s seniors were honored prior to the opening tip, Bazzano also earned a nice round of applause while being recognized during a pre-game ceremony. He received a quilt and a framed picture that featured the coach and his seniors.
Given the emotional nature of the night, Middletown struggled a bit in the early going against Willits (3-10) while establishing a 10-7 lead in the first quarter. Once the Mustangs settled down, the points began to flow, according to Bazzano.
“We played an excellent quarter,” he said of the 25-13 lead the Mustangs held by halftime.
Middletown gradually lengthened that lead in the second half.
“Aly hit some big jumpers for us,” Bazzano said of Hart, who led the team with 12 points, all on 3-pointers.
Emily Santiago (11 points) and Morris (10 points) joined Hart in double figures while Agapoff (nine points) just missed.
About the only downside to the game was an ankle injury to guard Sophie Kucer.
Middletown has won 16 of its last 19.
In junior varsity action, Middletown clinched the outright league championship with a 35-20 victory over Willits. The Mustangs improved to 13-0 in the NCL I standings and 22-3 overall. They need a win on Thursday against Clear Lake (11-2) to complete a perfect league season.
“We definitely would like to have that undefeated title on our plaque,” Middletown coach Andy Brown said. “They weren’t even that excited (about clinching against Willits). They said, ‘Coach, we want to beat Clear Lake.’”
Middletown led 12-11 after the first half.
“It was a slow start but we played good defense,” Brown said. “We had countless opportunities to score but couldn’t do it.”’
Middletown picked up the pace in the second half to post what turned out to be an easy win.
“We were able to pull it together,” Brown said.
In other girls basketball action Tuesday:
Cloverdale 69, Clear Lake 37
At Cloverdale, while the outcome of the game was never in doubt, Kortnie Reynolds’ bid to reach 1,000 career points was successful as the Clear Lake senior guard reached the milestone by hitting the first of two free throws in the third quarter.
Reynolds needed 11 points going into the game to hit 1,000 and she finished with 16 to become the 50th player in Lake County history to score 1,000 or more points.
“I’m happy for her because she put in a lot of work to reach this point,” said proud dad and Clear Lake head coach Kory Reynolds, who called a timeout immediately after Kortnie hit the free throw to reach 1,000 so that the team could celebrate.
“The kids had signs for her, it was really nice,” Reynolds said. “It’s a milestone and a memory she can keep forever.
“Basketball is her favorite sport. She’s been in that gym since she was in diapers,” Reynolds added of Kortnie’s home gym at Clear Lake High School in Lakeport.
With Kortnie making her push for 1,000 points, the Cardinals actually gave the Eagles a game in the first half. Cloverdale led 34-23 at halftime.
“They really played hard,” Reynolds said.
Cloverdale took control of the game in the third quarter.
“They came out more aggressively with their press in the second half,” Reynolds said.
Cloverdale outscored Clear Lake (5-8, 8-16) by a 19-10 margin in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. The Eagles clinched the undisputed league title with their victory, the team’s second straight NCL I championship.
In a JV game that went down to the wire, Sydney Howe’s layup with seven seconds remaining lifted Clear Lake to a 42-41 victory. The Eagles had time enough for a final shot but missed a layup at the buzzer.
The Cardinals trailed by as many as 18 points early in the game.
“To come back from 18 down, I was very impressed,” Clear Lake coach Larry Richardson said.
Howe led Clear Lake (11-2) with 17 points while Rylee Mix added 13.
Kelseyville 68, Lower Lake 53
At Lower Lake, the Lower Lake Trojans threw everything but the proverbial kitchen sink at Kelseyville’s Grace Davidson in an attempt to slow her down, but the senior center still scored a team-high 24 points to go along with 11 rebounds for the victorious Knights.
“We threw everything we had at her tonight and nothing worked,” Lower Lake head coach Dave Milano said. “She’s just too good a player. We committed two to three bodies to stop her and she was still scoring. She’s just an animal.”
Kelseyville head coach Jimmy Hale said his veteran post is hard on opposing defenses.
“She played really tough. She’s a hard-working kid.”
The Knights (9-4, 16-8) didn’t put the game away until the fourth quarter, according to Hale, who said his team was in a real dogfight with the Trojans most of the night.
“I thought the Lower Lake girls played amazingly,” Hale said.
Lower Lake’s typical slow start hurt the team again.
“It’s been an ongoing problem, a season-long problem,” Milano said. “I think we’ve been outscored something like 1,000-50 in the first quarter this season. It sure seems like it.”
Lower Lake (6-7, 8-17) fought back to make it 32-27 at halftime. The Knights took a 48-39 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Trojans’ accuracy at the free-throw line certainly helped them stay close to the Knights. Sophomore guard Lynzi Milano scored a career-best 26 points, sinking all 10 of her free throws on the night. She had four 3-pointers in the game and was fouled while attempting two other treys. She went to the line both times and made all three free throws.
“She was feeling it,” Milano said of his daughter’s big night. “She was very efficient.”
M.J. Boardman came off the bench to score 16 points, including two 3-pointers for the Knights.
“She stepped it up,” Hale said. “Twelve of her points came in the second half, seven in the fourth quarter.”
Sam Hughes and Anahi Robles had 10 points apiece for Lower Lake.
In the JV game, Kelseyville beat Lower Lake 44-31 behind 17 points from Megan Holland, seven from Skye Mateer and six apiece from Emily Sandoval and Larue Furlani.
Upper Lake 54, RVC 13
At Santa Rosa, Rincon Valley Christian sisters Caroline and Elizabeth Chambers combined for 48 points as the Eagles worked over the Upper Lake Cougars in NCL II action.
Caroline Chambers led the way with 33 points as Rincon Valley Christian improved to 8-0 in league play.
It was a long night for the Cougars (2-6, 9-15), who trailed 15-4 after one quarter and 30-9 by halftime.
Alana Sanchez led Upper Lake with five points and Katlyn Minnis had four.
