The varsity basketball Eagles will begin the final phase of the 2019-20 campaign this week, taking the court as the No. 5 seed in the 16-team North Coast Section Division 5 playoff tournament.
At the time of this writing, Cloverdale (21-4) was preparing to host No. 12 Redwood Christian on Wednesday, Feb. 19 (7 p.m.), with the survivor advancing to face the winner of No. 4 Urban versus No. 13 Sonoma Academy on Saturday, Feb. 22 (time and location TBD).
Eagles land second
The Eagles began the final stretch of the league campaign needing wins over Fort Bragg and Clear Lake to grab a share of the league title, and came up just short in winning one of two.
Cloverdale (12-2 in league) opened the action with a Feb. 11 clash with visiting Fort Bragg, with the teams trading buckets for the first three quarters. Deadlocked at 47-all after three, the Eagles closed out the contest on a 24-16 run to emerge with a hard-fought, 71-64 victory.   Â
Pacing the attack were Josh Lemley (27 points, 14 rebounds, 6 blocks), Dylan Muller (14 points), Andy Herrera (12 points) and Shayne Turner (11 points). Â
The win set up a dramatic home tilt with first-place Clear Lake on Senior Night on Friday, with the Cardinals holding a one-game edge in the standings.
It was not to be for the Eagles, as the visitors came out on fire to lead 19-10 after one and 38-21 at the break. Trailing by 16 after three quarters, Cloverdale staged a furious rally in the final period but fell just short as the Cardinals hung on for a 61-52 win.Â
Leading the way for the Eagles were Muller (16 points, 4 rebounds), Lemley (12 points, 9 boards, 5 blocks), Herrera (7 points, 6 rebounds), Turner (7 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals), Logan Axell (5 points), Tyler Ruys (3 points) and Spencer Hoover (2 points, 2 boards, 2 assists).
