HAMILTON CITY — In need of a win after a rough outing Tuesday night against Fort Bragg in North Central League I action, the Kelseyville Knights held off Hamilton High School 47-41 in non-league varsity boys basketball action Wednesday evening in Hamilton City.
Even without their leading scorer on the season, Joey Mendonca, in the starting lineup, Kelseyville (5-8) snapped a three-game losing streak thanks to 13 points from Jake Keithly and another 10 from Jonny Rixen, both season highs.
“His (Mendonca’s) back was hurting him and we wanted to save him from Cloverdale,” Kelseyville head coach Jeremy Linnell said with an eye toward Friday’s North Central League I contest at Cloverdale.
The Knights (5-8) took what seemed like a safe 42-25 lead into the fourth quarter only to watch the Braves (6-8) roar back to within six by game’s end.
“We made some big stops and hit some free throws there at the end,” Linnell said. “We’re a young team and we’re still learning how to win.”
While it’s more than 105 miles from Kelseyville to Hamilton City, Linnell said the long trip was “worth it” for a team that hasn’t had much success of late.
“We’ll take it,” Linnell said.
Bodhi Baird scored nine points for the Knights and Tyler Linnell added five. Keithly had three of Kelseyville’s four 3-pointers and Linnell had the other.
In junior varsity action, Kelseyville coach Oscar Lopez gave the majority of playing time to his reserves in a 45-38 loss to Hamilton. Coming off a league win on Tuesday against Fort Bragg, Lopez said he wanted to rest his starters before Friday’s league game at Cloverdale.
Hamilton made a big push in the third quarter, outscoring Kelseyville 20-7, to pull away from the Knights.
“That was the difference,” Lopez said.
Manny Acosta’s nine points led Kelseyville and Luke Watkins added six.
“It was a good learning experience for the the young guys to see the floor,” Lopez said.
