POTTER VALLEY >> Sammy Avalos scored 21 points, one of four Upper Lake players in double figures Saturday night as the Cougars beat the Mendocino Cardinals 63-50 in the boys championship game of the Potter Valley Tournament.
Kyle Grandi (11 points) was named tournament most valuable player and was joined on the All-Tourney team by teammates Avalos and Kai Young (15 points). Johnny Gonzales added 10 points as Upper Lake squared its season record at 4-4.
Playing their best game of the season to date, the Cougars combined strong defense with a balanced scoring attack to turn back the Cardinals (5-4), who held a 31-29 halftime lead.
“I was happy for the kids,” Upper Lake head coach Miles Hayes said. “Winning a game breeds confidence, winning a championship breeds more success. Now we need to keep that positivity rolling.”
Upper Lake didn’t start out very well. In fact, the Cardinals jumped out to a 10-0 lead, prompting Hayes to call a 30-second timeout so that the Cougars could refocus.
“I told them, ‘Don’t panic, every team goes on runs, play defense,’ ” Hayes said.
Upper Lake responded with a 8-0 run as Avalos hit back-to-back 3-pointers — the first two of 10 treys on the night by the Cougars — and Grandi added a layup to make it 10-8.
“We went from bad shot, bad shot to good shot, good shot. We crawled back into it after that and started to play defense,” Hayes said. “We played defense all three games (of the tournament).”
Playing team offense also was no problem for the Cougars, who have struggled with that at times in the early part of the 2021-22 season.
“We looked more consistent than we have in any game this season,” Hayes said.
Darian Loans Arrow scored his only six points of the game in the fourth quarter, sinking consecutive 3-pointers to push Upper Lake’s lead to 14. The Cougars then iced at the free-throw line. One night after going 13-for-30 from the line in a semifinal-round win over Round Valley, Upper Lake went 13-for-19 against the Cardinals.
Hayes said his three captains — Young, Grandi and Blaine Rhodes — made it easier for him to coach as they took charge on the floor.
“That’s what we need,” Hayes said.
Upper Lake has another busy week ahead. The Cougars are on the road Tuesday to play Calistoga in North Central League II action, then they open play in the Stokes Tournament Thursday against Elsie Allen of Santa Rosa. Tip-off is 1:30 p.m. at the Kelseyville High gym.
In other Saturday boys tournament action:
West County 52, Middletown 36
At Healdsburg, sluggish from the start, the Middletown Mustangs fell to West County of Sebastopol in the consolation championship game of the Redwood Empire Invitational.
“It was pretty frustrating,” Middletown assistant coach Jake Diehl said. “We forced shots, we missed a ton of shots.”
West County gradually pulled away from Middletown (5-2). The score was 7-5 after one quarter, 22-15 at halftime and 36-25 through three quarters.
All-Tournament selection Brody Breeden finished with a team-best 11 points for the Mustangs, who host Fort Bragg in league action Tuesday.
Middletown’s junior varsity boys and girls teams both play league games at home on Monday against Lower Lake.
San Rafael 57, Clear Lake 44
At Healdsburg, although ice-cold from the field in the first half, especially in the second quarter, the Clear Lake Cardinals battled back in the second half to make a game of it before losing to the San Rafael Bulldogs in the seventh-place game of the Redwood Empire Invitaitonal.
“We started out slow, but in the second quarter we couldn’t make a basket,” Clear Lake head coach Mike Damiata said. “We’re having a hard time scoring. It’s the same thing that’s happened to us the whole tournament.”
San Rafael outscored Clear Lake 19-2 in the second quarter to build a 32-12 lead.
Clear Lake regrouped at halftime, cut into San Rafael’s lead and spent the majority of the fourth quarter trailing by 10-12 points, according to Damiata.
“They could have mailed it in but they didn’t,” Damiata said of his players.
While it was tough day for Clear Lake’s starters outside of Joey Soderquist (12 points), two reserves — Miles Mattina and Greyson Wind — turned in strong outings.
Mattina scored four points and played solid defense, so much so that he was named to the All-Tournament team.
“He played really hard. He plays really good on-ball defense,” Damiata said. “He’s aggressive.”
Wind joined Soderquist in double figures with 11 points.
Clear Lake (3-4) travels to Willits on Tuesday for its North Central League I opener.
“We’re never going to be a high-scoring team, but we’ve got to do a better job,” Damiata said with an eye toward the 16-game league season coming up for his Cardinals, the two-time defending league champions. “We’ll regroup.”
