Lions beat Leadership in 67th annual REIBT
The El Molino Lions climbed into the win column on Saturday at the 67th annual Redwood Empire Invitational Tournament in Healdsburg, defeating Leadership to in a battle for seventh place.
The oldest running high school basketball tournament in Northern California, the REIBT included Healdsburg, John Swett, Leadership, El Molino, Justin Siena, Willits, Rincon Valley Christian, and Tomales.
El Mo’s first win of the 2015/16 campaign came on the heels of three straight losses to start the season, pushing the Lion’s record to 1-3.
At press time the Lions were preparing to host San Rafael in a Dec. 14 clash, and will resume non-league action on Dec. 17-19 in the Grand Lake Ace Hardware Invitational Tournament hosted by Piedmont.
Lions take one of three Â
El Mo opened the REIBT tourney on Dec. 9 against a tough John Swett team, spotting the Braves a 31-16 halftime lead in an eventual 58-32 loss. Junior center Jordan Kerkvliet led the attack with 11 points, while Ryan Fernandez chipped in seven for the Lions.
El Mo squared off with Willits in the Consolation bracket on Dec. 11, hanging tough to trail 20-17 at the break. Playing outstanding defense, the Lions pulled even to knot the contest at 27-all after three. The Wolverines had other plans, closing it out on an 18-8 run to post a 45-35 victory. Eric Nils Carlson led the offense with a team-high 14 points.
The Lion’s hard work was rewarded in Saturday’s REIBT finale against Leadership in the battle for seventh place, as El Mo handled everything the Royals threw at them en route to a convincing win.
Kerkvliet took top scoring honors with 23 points, including 11 in the first quarter. Also in the scoring column were Ian Siegert (8), Carlson (7, all in 3rd quarter), Fernandez (4), Kaleo Daly (4) and Jake Peter (3).        Â
