SANTA ROSA — Matching their 5-0 start of last season, the Clear Lake Cardinals used a 16-3 third quarter to defeat Sonoma Academy 57-34 in non-league varsity boys basketball action Tuesday night in Santa Rosa.
Clear Lake (5-0) also won its first five games during a record-setting 2018-19 season that produced a school-best 27-4 record, including a 69-53 win over Sonoma Academy in the quarterfinal round of the North Coast Section Division 5 playoffs. Tuesday’s contest was even more lopsided than last season’s playoff meeting although the Cardinals held just a 23-20 lead at halftime.
“We were pretty flat in the first half,” Clear Lake head coach Scott De Leon said. “We had a long weekend, a late practice (Monday) and during the drive down here the weather was absolutely awful.”
De Leon also said it took the Cardinals a half to acclimate themselves to unfamiliar surroundings. “Their gym is twice the size of ours and we kind of got lost in it in the first half. We just didn’t play very well.”
De Leon gave full credit to the Coyotes for making a game of it early.
“The came out with good energy and threw everything they had at us,” he said.
Clear Lake switched out of a man-to-man defense toward the end of the second quarter and remained in a zone in the third quarter that seemed to slow down the fast Coyotes.
“We kept trying different things on defense and switched to a zone,” De Leon said. “We were having trouble with their quickness. We like to play physical man-to-man defense, but we got into early foul trouble and the zone helped us out with that.”
The Cardinals also placed a greater emphasis on feeding forward/center Jaron Mertle down low in the second half with good results.
“He scored 11 of his 17 in the second half,” De Leon said.
Mertle also led the team with 16 rebounds, five offensive, and three blocks.
Darius Ford added eight points and six assists while Keanu Ford also had eight points.
The Cardinals had nine team steals and only seven turnovers.
Clear Lake returns to action Thursday against Ukiah at 4 p.m. in the opening round of the Redwood Empire Invitational Basketball Tournament (REIBT). The Cardinals are one of three Lake County teams entered in this year’s REIBT, joining Middletown and Kelseyville. The tournament, which uses a standard eight-team bracket, runs through Saturday at the Smith Robinson Gym on the Healdsburg High School campus.
Clear Lake beat Ukiah 61-46 in a North Coast Section Foundation Game on Nov. 26 in Ukiah although Foundation games do not count as a win or a loss for either team. The Wildcats (0-3) are coached by former Willits and Upper Lake head coach Duane Nelson.
Junior varsity
Clear Lake’s junior varsity squad improved to 6-0 with a 65-21 victory over Sonoma Academy. Ethan Maize led the way with 24 points, Jack Daskam finished with seven while Zane Robinson and Maddox Albaum each had six.
The Cardinals outscored the Coyotes in every quarter and led 59-21 through three quarters. They sat their starters in the final period.
Clear Lake;s JVs travel to Upper Lake on Thursday for a 7 p.m. game with the Cougars.
