KELSEYVILLE — There’s something about the third quarter that agrees with the Kelseyville Knights. They did it again Thursday night, outscoring Clear Lake 18-3 while going on to hand the Cardinals their first North Central League I loss, 60-48, at Kelseyville.
Clear Lake (5-1, 11-5) took a 31-29 lead into halftime.
Kelseyville head coach Oscar Lopez said he didn’t have to deliver an inspirational speech to light a fire under his squad.
“It wasn’t me, it was them,” Lopez said of his players. “They wanted to go out there and do it. Forget about the record, the wanted to take it to their rivals.”
“It was brutal,” Clear Lake head coach Mike Damiata said of the third quarter. “We flat out went ice-cold from the field. But it was two things. We couldn’t buy a bucket and Kelseyville went to 1-2-2 zone that frustrated us. We were prepared for it, but we could not find the holes in it. It was more what Kelseyville did than what we didn’t do.”
“We dialed it in a little bit,” Lopez said of Kelseyville’s defense. “We went to a 1-2-2 to better match up with them.”
Both teams had to work around their big men in foul trouble. For Clear Lake, it was Cody Hayes (10 points). For Kelseyville, it was Adolfo Arias (six points).
“I thought we matched up well with them inside and I thought Cody could be an advantage inside, but he had to sit out most of that third quarter,” Damiata said.
Likewise the Knights had to go to a smaller lineup with Arias on the bench in foul trouble. Kelseyville’s bench responded.
“Joey (Gentle) and Earl (Lingcong) were a big help,” Lopez said.
Clear Lake’s only three points of the third quarter came on a 3-pointer by Jake Soderquist, the Cardinals’ leading scorer with 18 points. Kelseyville had six different players reach the scoring column in the third quarter.
“Everyone contributed,” Lopez said.
Acosta led the Knights with 15 points while Luke and Kyle Watkins added 13 points apiece. Kyle Watkins, a sophomore, sustained a shoulder injury in the third quarter and had to leave the game. He returned to score four points in the fourth quarter before retiring to the bench.
“They were four big points,” Lopez said.
Arias went on to pull down eight rebounds without getting into further foul trouble.
“He played smart with three fouls,” Lopez said.
Jesse Hayes and Graden Greer both had nine points for the Cardinals, who are on the road Saturday in Fort Bragg. Gentle finished with seven points for the Knights (5-1, 9-6), who have the opportunity to give the Cloverdale Eagles (5-0) their first league loss on Saturday in Cloverdale.
In the junior varsity game, the Clear Lake Cardinals (5-1) handed the Kelseyville Knights (5-1) their first league loss, 44-38, behind 16 points from Zane McAuley and 15 more from Sawyer Smith. Ryder Leary and Max Hommer had 10 points apiece for Kelseyville.
“My guys showed up and battled,” Clear Lake head coach Shady Cerezo said.
McAuley also had eight rebounds.
“Smith really attacked the boards and we needed him to have a big game with Peyton out,” Cerezo said.
Peyton Portlock, one of the Cardinals’ top players and scorers, is currently sidelined with a foot injury.
Cerezo also praised the defense of Kaden Graham.
“He was all over the place,” Cerezo said.
In other NCL I boys action Thursday:
Cloverdale 57, Middletown 42
At Middletown, the Cloverdale Eagles used an 18-8 second quarter to beat the Middletown Mustangs and remain undefeated in league play at 5-0.
Caden Axell scored nine of his team-leading 23 points in that second quarter.
“He was cutting through the defense,” Middletown head coach Jake Diehl said of Axell.
The Eagles converted eight 3-pointers during their win.
“And they weren’t just shooting 3s,” Diehl said. “They were shooting NBA 3s. Six of their eight were from way behind the line.
“They’re long, fast and athletic,” Diehl added of the Mustangs. “That team can shoot. We had a hand in their face but it didn’t seem to matter.”
Middletown (2-4, 6-9) pulled down a season-high 14 offensive rebounds and played well in most areas with one big exception.
“We shot 27 percent (from the field),” Diehl said. “That was the difference.”
Neither team got to the free-throw line much.
“They let us play,” Diehl said of the game officials.
Nadav Dicovski’s 15 points and three 3-pointers led the Mustangs.
The Mustangs are on the road Saturday to play Willits.
In the JV game, Middletown head coach Wyatt Hall was pleased with the play of starters and reserves alike as the Mustangs improved to 5-1 in league play and 12-3 overall with a 66-23 victory over Cloverdale.
“Everybody was playing at the top of his game, even my subs,” Hall said. “Some of the subs were playing better than the starters.”
Middletown built a 38-8 halftime lead with primarily its starters on the floor, but the team’s reserves ran the show in the second half.
“I played my reserves a little in the first half, but they played most of the second half,” Hall said.
Anthony Bowerman had a big game with 11 points, nine rebounds and five steals while Jon Hawkins added eight points, nine rebounds and four steals.
Among Middletown’s reserves, Jasiah Pike finished with 11 points, TJ Allred had nine points and five assists, and Hunter Karp finished with eight points.
Middletown’s teams hit the road Saturday to play Willits beginning with the JV game at 6 p.m.
Lower Lake 61, Fort Bragg 58
At Lower Lake, with three starters serving the final game of a two-game suspension stemming from an altercation following a 48-46 win at Willits on Saturday, the Lower Lake Trojans beat the Fort Bragg Timberwolves in dramatic fashion to improve to 3-4 in the league standings.
Tied 58-all with a minute remaining, Buddy Felder hit the first of two free throws to give Lower Lake a 59-58 lead. Fort Bragg missed a rebound its next time down the floor as Lower Lake freshman Ashton Hartman pulled down the defensive rebound. He was immediately fouled by Fort Bragg and went to the line to shoot a one-and-one. Hartman missed the front end but teammate Jett Guralas grabbed the rebound. Guralas’ putback missed the mark but the senior again grabbed the rebound.
“He got his own rebound four times and finally put in the last one at the buzzer,” Lower Lake head coach Blaine Amos said.
Guralas finished with a team-best 24 points, one of four Lower Lake players to score in double figures. He was joined by Dylan Sherman with 11 points and Felder and Charles Jones with 10 points apiece.
“I was very proud of my boys,” Amos said. “I was very excited.”
With three starters unable to go because of the suspensions, Amos promoted freshmen Hartman and Jimmy Shankles to the varsity and both contributed to Lower Lake’s win.
“Both performed phenomenally,” Amos said. “We wouldn’t have won this game without them.”
And then there was Guralas, who had two of the Trojans’ six 3-pointers — Sherman led the team with three.
“Jett had a phenomenal game,” Amos said.
Lower Lake led 31-24 at halftime. Fort Bragg closed to 45-43 after three quarters.
“It was a real nailbiter,” Amos said.
