Cloverdale hopes to unseat Willits as top dog in NCL-1
With 10 preseason games and two months of preparation under their belt, the varsity basketball Eagles are ready to showcase their skills in the opening week of the NCL-1 schedule.
At press time Cloverdale (7-3) was prepping for the league opener on Jan. 6 at Kelseyville, and will return home on Friday, Jan. 9 to host defending NCL-1 champion Willits in a 7:30 varsity tip-off. The Eagles will visit Lower Lake next Tuesday, Jan. 13 (7 p.m.).
Cloverdale enters league as one of several serious contenders to unseat the reigning champion Wolverines, but are well aware of the effort that each game will require.
“The league is strong and balanced,” CHS head coach Steve Bernardi said. “We will have to continue to play good defense, shoot the ball better and limit our turnovers to compete.”
The Eagles ventured north for the final pair of preseason games last weekend, beginning with a Jan. 2 visit to McKinleyville. The Panthers raced to a big early lead and fought off a strong Cloverdale rally after intermission en route to a 62-45 win.
“We played a good McKinleyville team,” Bernardi noted, citing an outstanding outing from Marcus Poe. “We got behind early, made a second-half comeback but came up short. Injuries and foul trouble were contributing factors.
Poe paced the attack with 18 points and 17 rebounds, while teammate John McMillan chipped in 11 points and five boards. Rounding out the Cloverdale scoring was Luke Pope (8 points), Jayson McMillan (6 points), and Adrian Bernardi (2 points).
The Eagles were back in action the following night at Ferndale, powering to a 57-41 win. Senior John McMillan turned in one of his best games of the season, pouring in a game-high 26 points while pulling down 13 rebounds and adding a pair of steals.
Other big contributors included Poe (15 points, 9 boards, 2 blocks), Jayson McMillan (9 points, 6 rebounds), Michael McDermott (3 points, 1 rebound), Adrian Bernardi (2 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals), and Pope (2 points, 4 boards, assist, steal).
Despite the win, the Cloverdale brain-trust was far from satisfied with the team’s performance.
“We were lucky to win this game, defense and John saved the day,” coach Steve Bernardi said. “We continue to shoot poorly from the outside against zone defenses, going 1 -17 from the arc.”
