Boys clinch league championship
The varsity basketball Eagles are champions of the NCL-1 for the second straight year, logging critical victories over St. Helena, Lower Lake and Fort Bragg to vault them into first place.
The Eagles (22-4) had clinched no worse than a tie for the top spot with a pair of wins last week and on Tuesday, Feb. 16, sealed the deal with a convincing 75-54 romp over visiting Fort Bragg to claim the title outright.
The Eagles finished league play with a record of 12-2, followed by Lower Lake (10-4), Kelseyville (9-5), Fort Bragg (9-5), Clear Lake (7-7), Willits (5-9), St. Helena (2-12) and Middletown (1-13).
The Eagles entered the second to last week of the league schedule in control of their own destiny, and accomplished their goal, despite a few tense moments against a lower division team.
“We were lucky to win at St. Helena, they played well and we could not make a shot,” CHS coach Steve Bernardi said. “Defense carried the day as it has all season. Lower Lake was a must-win game for us and everyone played great on both ends of the court.”
Cloverdale is currently ranked third among North Coast Section Division-5 teams and will no doubt land a high seed when the NCS playoff seeding committee meets this Sunday to fill out the brackets. The NCS tournament starts next week.
Meanwhile, the Lady Eagles also helped themselves in the league standings last week, notching wins over St. Helena (50-23) and Lower Lake (48-36). Cloverdale will close out the league campaign at Fort Bragg on Feb. 16. The girls are currently the number-two ranked team in NCS Division-5, and should also get a high seed in next week’s playoff tournament.
Cloverdale (19-6) entered the final week of league in third place with a 9-4 record, behind only first-place Middletown (12-1) and Kelseyville (12-1). Rounding out the league standings were Clear Lake (7-6), Fort Bragg (4-8), Lower Lake (4-9), Willits (3-10) and St. Helena (0-12).
Eagles take flight
The Eagles began a crucial stretch on Feb. 9 at St. Helena, surviving a sluggish start to pull out an eventual 46-40 win. Top scorers included Jayson McMillan (15 points) and Gage Hoover (14 points).
Cloverdale was back in championship form in a Feb. 11 showdown with visiting Lower Lake, a game that would determine the league title. The Eagles took charge from the start, shocking the Trojans with a stifling defensive effort in racing to a 32-12 halftime lead. Cloverdale held Lower Lake to single digits in all four quarters en route to a 79-43 rout. It was the Eagle’s seventh straight win. Top point-getters were (25 points), Marcus Poe (12 points, 16 rebounds), Adrian Bernardi (10 points) and Travis Kitowski (10 points).
Girls on a roll
The Lady Eagles took care of business in both games last week, beginning with a Feb. 9 date with visiting St. Helena. The outcome was never in doubt, as Cloverdale powered to a 32-12 halftime cushion on its way to a 50-23 rout.
Leading the way on offense were Teanne Edens (18 points, 9 rebounds), Angel Bernardi (12 points), Camryn Figueroa (7 points), Karsyn Stewart (4 points), Katie Edwards (3 points), Ale Perez (2 points, 4 assists, 2 steals), Jaedyn Jenkins (2 points, 3 assists, 2 steals) and Bailey Stewart (2 points, 5 rebounds).
The Eagles used another hot start to gain early separation in a Feb. 11 visit to Lower Lake, taking a 19-9 lead after one before settling for a 28-22 edge at the half. Cloverdale led by 11 at the end of three and the defense closed it out in an eventual 48-36 win. “It was a good win,” coach Rick Berry said. “We slowed it down in the fourth quarter, had a good lead and worked on ball control and running time down for the last shot.”
Angel Bernardi turned in a sensational outing with a team-high 27 points, including 17 of 18 from the foul line. Other top contributors were Edens (12 points, 7 rebounds), Karsyn Stewart (4 points, 4 boards), Figueroa (2 points, 3 steals), Perez (2 points, 4 assists), Bailey Stewart (1 point, 5 rebounds) and Jenkins (3 assists, 2 steals).
