BASKETBALL
A great weekend of high school hoops is on tap as the Eagles play host at the 50th annual John McMillan Holiday Basketball Tournament on Dec. 10-12.
Cloverdale will be a clear favorite to defend the McMillan tourney title won last year in a 54-52 thriller over Granada.
This year’s line-up of teams also includes St. Vincent, Clear Lake, St. Helena, CSD, Berean Christian, Willows and Round Valley.
The Eagles (3-1) will open the tournament on Thursday, Dec. 10 in an 8:30 p.m. clash with Round Valley. The championship game will be played on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Eagles off to fast start
Cloverdale made its season debut in the annual Redwood Classic Tournament hosted by Anderson Valley in Boonville last weekend, claiming two wins in three outings for second place.
The Eagles opened the tourney with an 82-47 romp over Laytonville, exploiting a distinct size advantage to win going away. Top scorers included Jayson McMillan (21 points), Mike McDermott (14), Marcus Poe (12) and Gage Hoover (11).
Game two pitted Cloverdale against Bentley, as the Eagles cruised to a dominant 81-48 victory. Pacing the attack were McMillan (23), Poe (15), Hoover (16) and Jordan Persons (10).
“We played a great game,” Eagles coach Steve Bernardi said. “The defense was the key, we led 45-18 at the half and never looked back.”
Cloverdale met perennial power Branson in a physical game three, riding the hot hands of McMillan (19 points) and Poe (18 points) in powering to a 52-44 win. Luke Pope converted seven of eight shots from the line in the fourth quarter, while Adrian Bernardi held Branson’s top scorer to a pedestrian six points.
The victory set up a meeting with defending state champion Stuart Hall in the tournament title game. The teams traded buckets most of the way until Stuart Hall finally pulled away late to notch a 75-55 win.
Leading scorers for the Eagles included McMillan (16), Hoover (10) and Persons (10).
“We kept it close against a defending section champion for three and a half quarters, thanks to our bench players and our three-point shooting,” Steve Bernardi noted. “Stuart Hall’s pressure bothered us and they shot the ball extremely well.”
Girls capture tournament title
The Lady Eagles are out to a hot start on the pre-league circuit following an outstanding showing in the Stokes Tournament in Kelseyville.
Cloverdale won all three games played to claim the first place trophy, logging wins over Ferndale (60-28), Upper Lake (60-33) and Kelseyville (40-33).
The strong team performance early in the season was a welcome sign for head coach Rick Berry.
“Defensively we’re playing well,” he said. “Offensively we need to cut down on the turnovers. But all in all we have played pretty solid.”
The Eagles got good contributions from their nucleus of veterans. Top scorers against Ferndale were Ale Perez (16), Angel Bernardi (14), Teanne Edens (12) and Karsyn Stewart (10).
Angel Bernardi led the attack against Upper Lake with 15 points, with other good efforts turned in by Perez (14), Edens (8) and Camryn Figueroa (7).
Bernardi exploded for a team-high 22 points in the title game against Kelseyville to secure tournament MVP honors.
Other top offensive efforts were had by Edens (9) and Perez (6). Ale Perez was also named to the All-Tournament squad.
Next up for the Lady Eagles (4-0) is the Potter Valley Tournament which starts on Thursday, Dec. 10. Cloverdale opens up against Mendocino (time TBA).
