High school basketball
It’s getting down to crunch time for Cloverdale High School basketball teams, as the Eagles gear up for what could be an exciting league finish.
Both varsity teams are coming off a winning stretch of hoops, as the boys turned back home-standing Fort Bragg (57-39) and Clear Lake (65-57), while the girls notched wins over visiting Fort Bragg (49-39) and Clear Lake (60-46).
At the start of play this week the boys (16-4, 6-2) were in a three-way tie for second place in the NCL-1 standings with Kelseyville and Fort Bragg at 6-2, one game back of first-place Lower Lake (7-1).
Rounding out the league standings were Clear Lake (3-5), Willits (3-5), Middletown (1-8) and St. Helena (0-8).
The Eagles resumed league action on Feb. 2 (after press time) against Kelseyville, followed by a home clash with Middletown on Thursday, Feb. 4 (7 p.m.), and a road trip to Willits this Saturday, Feb. 6 (7:30 p.m.).
Meanwhile the girls (17-4, 6-2) were also in the hunt, all alone in third place behind league-leading Kelseyville (8-0) and Middletown (7-1). Filling out the division are Clear Lake (4-4), Willits (3-5), Lower Lake (2-6), Fort Bragg (2-6) and St. Helena (0-8).
This week, Cloverdale will hit the road for games at Kelseyville (Feb. 2) and Middletown (Feb. 4, 7 p.m.), before coming home to host Willits (Feb. 5, 7:30 p.m.).
Boys in win column
The Eagles were on their game in a Jan. 26 visit to Fort Bragg, breaking an 11-11 deadlock with a 19-11 run in the second quarter. Fueled by a great defensive effort, Cloverdale kept its foot on the gas after intermission in powering to a 57-39 win. Leading scorers included Marcus Poe (15 points) and Jordan Persons (11 points).
The Eagles were locked in a tight battle at Clear Lake on Jan. 29, erasing a five-point first-quarter deficit to grab a 27-26 edge at the half.
The Eagles rode the hot hand of Jayson McMillan in the decisive third quarter to pad the lead, and held off a game Cardinals team down the stretch to notch a 65-57 win.
McMillan led all scorers with 22 points. Other top contributors were Marcus Poe (12 points, 12 rebounds) and Luke Pope (11 points, 7 assists).
“We played well in both games on the road and got contributions from a lot of players,” Eagles coach Steve Bernardi said, citing shutdown defensive efforts from Pope and Adrian Bernardi as a key element. “We’ll need to continue to play well to win the league.”
Girls on a roll
The Lady Eagles played some of their best ball of the season last week, beginning with a Jan. 26 clash with Fort Bragg. Cloverdale employed a stifling defense to hold the Timberwolves to single digits in the first half for a 31-9 cushion into the break. The T-Wolves chipped away the deficit in the second half but the Eagles would prevail, 49-39.
“It was a game of two halves,” Eagles coach Rick Berry said. “We played really well in the first half and poorly in the second, especially on the defensive end.”
Top point-producers for Cloverdale were Angel Bernardi (18 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal), Karsyn Stewart (11 points. 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, Ale Perez (9 points, 1 rebound, 3 steals), Bailey Stewart (5 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists), Jaedyn Jenkins (2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal), Teanne Edens (2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal) and Camryn Figueroa (2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 rebounds).
The girls overcame early foul trouble in their Jan. 29 meeting with Clear Lake, battling back from a 28-23 first-half deficit with a decisive 19-9 third-quarter run. The Eagles kept their foot on the gas in the final eight minutes to notch a 60-46 win.
Pacing the attack were Edens (18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal), Bernardi (14 points, 10 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal), Karsyn Stewart (8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal), Figueroa (7 points, 4 rebounds,1 assist), Bailey Stewart (5 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals), Perez (4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists), Jenkins (2 points, 2 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals) and Ruby Stone (2 points).
