The Eagles came within a whisker of capturing the 53rd annual John McMillan Holliday Invitational Basketball Tournament, claiming two of three games played to settle for third place.
Cloverdale opened the three-day tourney on Dec. 6 with an 80-44 rout over St. Vincent but stumbled on Friday in a 58-52 overtime loss to St. Bernard’s. On Saturday, the Eagles were back in the win column in a 70-57 romp over St. Helena.
“The team played two solid games and we were a little disappointed by our overtime loss to St. Bernard’s,” Cloverdale coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “We’re a very young team with only one player that had substantial varsity playing time experience. I’m looking forward to watching this team grow throughout the season.”
Eagles take two
Cloverdale opened the McMillan tourney in dominant fashion against St. Vincent on Dec. 6, racing to a 48-21 cushion at the half. The Eagles opened up a 40-point advantage by the end of three before coasting to an 80-44 rout.
Sophomore center Josh Lemley led the attack with a team-high 28 points, while adding nine rebounds and four blocks. Other top scorers were Chuche Maciel (17 points), Shayne Turner (9 points, 8 rebounds), Andres Herrera (9 points, 7 assists), Keller Sibert (8 points), Mario Lopez (5 points, 5 boards), Spencer Hoover (4 points, 4 rebounds).
The Eagles were locked in a heated battle with St. Bernard’s in Friday’s tourney semifinal, playing to a 20-20 deadlock at the half. The battled continued throughout the second half, before a late surge by the Crusaders knotted the contest at 49-all to send it into overtime. St. Bernard’s outscored the Eagles 9-3 in the extra period on their way to a 58-52 win.
“Giving up the five point lead with 28 seconds to go was tough but hopefully we learn from it,” Fitzgerald noted.
Pacing the offense were Turner (17 points, 7 boards), Lemley (14 points, 12 rebounds), Lopez (8 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists), Maciel (8 points, 5 boards), Herrera (3 points, 2 rebounds) and Hoover (2 points, 7 boards).
Cloverdale bounced back in a big way in Saturday’s third-place clash with St. Helena, jumping all over the Saints with strong inside play and good perimeter shooting for a 31-21 halftime lead. The Eagles increased the lead to 16 by the end of three and never looked back en route to a 70-57 victory.
Lemley earned all-tourney honors with 23 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks, while Turner did the same with 17 points and three boards. Also in the scoring column were Lopez (19 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists), Herrera (5 points, 4 boards), Maciel (4 points, 3 rebounds) and Hoover (2 points, 2 rebounds).
Del Norte defeated St. Bernard’s 54-27 to capture the McMillan tourney title.
At press time the Eagles (4-2) were preparing for a Dec. 10 visit to Elsie Allen, followed by a Dec. 20 trip to Sonoma Academy (4 p.m.).
