Jayson McMillan named MVP of tournament named for his grandfather
The Cloverdale Eagles put the icing on the cake at their annual hoops party on Saturday, soundly defeating Clear Lake in the title game to capture the 50th John McMillan Holiday Basketball Tournament.
Cloverdale entered the McMillan tourney as the clear favorite among competing teams St. Vincent, Clear Lake, St. Helena, California School for the Deaf, Berean Christian, Willows and Round Valley.
The Eagles made short work of all three opponents, notching lopsided wins over Round Valley (59-32), Willows (67-27) and Clear Lake (67-28).
It was the second year in a row that the Eagles have hoisted the McMillan championship trophy, having beaten Granada for the title last year.
The tournament Most Valuable Player trophy also remained in house, as junior forward Jayson McMillan was honored with the award following a stellar three-game performance. His older brother John McMillan won the award last year. The McMillan boys are the grandsons of John McMillan, for whom the tournament is named.
“Jayson dominated inside and out, along with a lot of contributions from the whole team,” veteran Eagles coach Steve Bernardi said, while citing the accurate shooting of Marcus Poe and the defensive play of Adrian Bernardi and Luke Pope as keys to victory. “We played great defense in the tournament, especially in the championship game against Clear Lake.”
Eagles in a rout
Cloverdale set the tone for a dominant weekend of basketball in the McMillan opener on Dec. 10, easily dispatching Round Valley, 59-32. Jayson McMillan led all scorers with 24 points.
It was more of the same in Friday’s game two, as the Eagles raced to a 32-11 halftime lead en route to a 40-point margin of victory. Pacing the Cloverdale offense were Marcus Poe (12 points), McMillan (10 points) and Luke Pope (10 points).
Saturday’s tournament title game against Clear Lake would follow a similar script, as Cloverdale powered to a 40-17 lead at the break in an eventual 67-28 victory. McMillan secured tourney MVP honors with a team-high 25 points, while teammate Marcus Poe chipped in 16.
Poe and Adrian Bernardi were also named to the All-Tournament team for the Eagles.
Cloverdale will resume pre-league action this Thursday, Dec. 17 in a 7 p.m. clash at Healdsburg.
Girls take two of three
The Lady Eagles (6-1) also logged an outstanding weekend of basketball at the Potter Valley Tournament, claiming two wins in three outings.
Cloverdale opened the tournament on Dec. 10 with a 51-30 romp over Mendocino. Pacing the attack were Angel Bernardi (14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals), Teanne Edens (12 points, 1 rebound), Karsyn Stewart (6 points, 1 rebound, 3 steals), Ale Perez (6 points,1 rebound, 3 steals), Camryn Figueroa (5 points), Jaedyn Jenkins (4 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists) and Bailey Stewart (4 points,1 rebound, 3 assists, 2 steals).
The Eagles ran into eventual tourney champion St. Bernard’s squad in Friday’s game two. Employing a “box and one” defensive scheme on Cloverdale leading scorer Angel Bernardi, the Crusaders busted open a tight game in the second half to post a 59-41 win.
Top scorers for the Eagles were Bernardi (15 points, 5 rebounds), Edens (9 points), Perez (4 points), Bailey Stewart (4 points, 5 assists) and Karsyn Stewart (4 points, 5 rebounds).
Cloverdale climbed back into the win column in Saturday’s battle for third place, dispatching Upper Lake in a 43-32 win. Top point-getters for the Eagles were Bernardi (19 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal), Edens (9 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals), Figueroa (5 points, 4 rebounds), Perez (4 points, 3 rebounds), Bailey Stewart (3 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal) and Jenkins (2 points, 2 boards, 1 assist).
Angel Bernardi garnered All-Tournament honors for Cloverdale.
The Eagles can look to the work done on the defensive end of the floor as the chief reason for their 6-1 start.
“The six games we’ve won we held our opponent to under 40 points,” Eagles coach Rick Berry said. “In the one loss we gave up 59, so we have to take our defense into each game.”
The Lady Eagles will take a break during finals this week and be back in action against visiting Roseland University Prep on Dec. 22.
