LAKEPORT — It’s not easy being public enemy No. 1, but the Clear Lake Cardinals have embraced the role of being the team to beat in the North Central League I and have even flourished despite all the added pressure.
On Wednesday, the Cardinals picked off the Willits Wolverines 70-41 in varsity boys basketball action at Clear Lake High School in Lakeport, their 23rd straight league victory and 28th in their last 29 games.
“We know every team we face is going to throw everything they have at us,” Clear Lake head coach Scott De Leon said. “We have to be ready to play every night, and we’ve got to play four quarters.”
Having a veteran team helps, according to De Leon, who said his core group of four seniors went through all of this last season when the Cardinals went 14-0 in league play.
“They’re used to it,” De Leon said of the pressure that comes with the team’s high expectations.
One of Clear Lake’s seniors, center Jaron Mertle, scored all of his team-leading 27 points in the first three quarters before retiring to the bench. He had 11 of the Cardinals’ 21 points in the opening period and 14 of the team’s 27 points in the third quarter.
“It’s fun to watch him,” De Leon said of Mertle, who has 81 points in his last three games. “He works hard … in practices, in games. He’s getting rebounds and playing defense. I’m really proud of him. He has worked so hard to get where he is. It’s nice to see him enjoying some of the accolades he’s earned from his hard work.”
Willits (1-8) put up a fight in the first half and trailed only 36-29 at halftime.
“Willits is playing better and they played well tonight,” De Leon said of the Wolverines’ first-half performance. “They were scrappy and they shot the ball well in the first half.”
A 27-5 third quarter put the game into the win column for the Cardinals.
“We just turned on the defensive pressure in the third quarter,” De Leon said. “We switched to a trapping zone and they had a lot of turnovers.”
Clear Lake had 19 steals on the night, a good chunk of those coming in the third quarter.
Balanced scoring and tough defense – the Cardinals allowed just 12 points in the second half – are also Clear Lake trademarks and both were on display Wednesday night. Travis Howe added 11 points, Darius Ford had 10, Donovan Valadez contributed nine and Tyler Cerini had eight.
“Travis was really tough (on defense) and Valadez had a solid game,” De Leon said. “Darius is doing all the things we need him to do.”
Ford led the Cardinals with seven assists and also had three steals.
De Leon also praised the play off the bench of Evan Coakley, who had six steals.
“His defense is pretty solid,” De Leon said.
Clear Lake is home Friday to play Middletown to cap a four-game set between the two schools.
In junior varsity action Wednesday, Clear Lake beat Willits 60-45 to remain tied with Middletown atop the NCL I standings. Both teams are 8-1 going into their showdown Friday in Lakeport.
“Good team game,” Clear Lake coach Scott Persons said. “We played everybody significant minutes. I’m proud of them, they played hard.”
Ethan Maize led the Cardinals with 19 points, Drake Smart contributed 14, Jack Daskam added 11, and Zane Robinson and Maddox Albaum had eight apiece.
“They came out and did what they needed to do to get this win,” Persons said.
In other boys action Wednesday:
Cloverdale 86, Lower Lake 50
At Cloverdale, the Lower Lake Trojans couldn’t keep Cloverdale off the boards and paid the price in a lopsided loss to the Eagles (8-1, 17-3).
“They had a lot of offensive rebounds and it just killed us,” Lower Lake head coach Marcus Humphrey said.
Cloverdale’s domination on the defensive boards fueled its transition game during a 23-10 second quarter that put the Eagles comfortably in front at halftime 44-28.
The Eagles also made the most of numerous trips to the free-throw line in the first half.
Semaj Clark led Lower Lake (3-6, 5-10) with 14 points while both Aries Brooke and Lorenzo Zuniga finished with 11 points apiece. Vann Wilkins had 10.
Dylan Muller led the Eagles with 21 points and Josh Lemley added 17.
Cloverdale won the JV game 59-40.
Lower Lake’s teams hit the road Friday to play Willits.
