FORT BRAGG — The defense was there in the first half but not the offense as the Kelseyville Knights went on to lose 66-40 to the Fort Bragg Timberwolves in North Central League I varsity boys basketball action Thursday night in Fort Bragg.
“We could not score to save our lives,” Kelseyville head coach Jeremy Linnell said as the Knights fell to 1-8 in the league standings and 6-14 overall. “We really struggled putting the ball in the hole. It just wasn’t our night.”
Fort Bragg, a solid third in the NCL I standings behind Clear Lake (9-0) and Cloverdale (8-1), improved to 7-2 and 16-5 overall.
Despite its woes on offense, the Knights trailed only 11-6 after one quarter and 27-19 at halftime.
“I thought we played good defense in the first half, but we just couldn’t score. In the second half they opened it up on us.”
The Timberwolves pulled away with a 20-9 third quarter.
Joey Mendonca and Bodhi Baird led the Knights with nine points apiece. Kelseyville finished with just one 3-pointer, that by Garrett Smith.
In the junior varsity game, Fort Bragg edged Kelseyville 38-35 as the Knights missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Kelseyville had a chance to tie the game or even take the lead trailing 36-35 with 11 seconds remaining but missed the front end of a one-and-one. Forced to foul, the Knights did so and the Timberwolves made both free throws to go up 38-35.
“We still had time left to take a shot,” Kelseyville coach Oscar Lopez said.
And the Knights got a good look in the final seconds but couldn’t hit what would have been a game-tying 3-pointer, according to Lopez.
In a game that was close throughout, Kelseyville took a five-point lead into the fourth quarter after trailing 15-14 at halftime.
The Knights were home Friday to play Cloverdale and they host Willits on Tuesday.
