ST. HELENA — Joey Mendonca scored a season-best 24 points and the Kelseyville High School varsity boys basketball team held off a late charge by John Swett of Crockett to edge the Warriors 52-51 in the consolation championship game Saturday at the St. Helena Tournament.
Kelseyville improved to 3-1 on the season and the only loss was a 58-57 setback to Fortuna in its tournament opener Thursday.
“We’re very happy with the way things turned out,” Kelseyville first-year coach Jeremy Linnell said. “It was a good tournament for us.”
Kelseyville had a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter before John Swett began to claw its way back into the game.
All-Tournament selection Bodhi Baird finished with 10 points, Robert Chavez added eight and Jake Keithly had seven.
Varsity girls
Chico 70, Kelseyville 49
At Gridley, Chico used a 32-point first quarter to take control from the Kelseyville varsity girls in the third-place game of the Gridley Tournament. After beating Vallejo 45-25 in their tournament opener, the Knights (1-3) ran into a buzz saw against their next two opponents, losing 62-35 to Gridley on Friday and to Chico on Saturday.
“They were pressing us the whole time and we weren’t really taking care of the ball,” Kelseyville head coach Skyler Olsen said. “They played hard, but they were kind of defeated after that first quarter (32-14).”
All-Tournament selection Sam Carter led the Knights with 20 points. Maddy Barker added seven.
The Knights tough preseason schedule continues Tuesday when they visit Justin-Siena in Napa. Junior varsity action begins at 5 p.m. On Thursday, Kelseyville draws tournament host Healdsburg in the opening round of the 71st annual Redwood Empire Invitational at 8:30 p.m.
