Kelseyville boys edge Cloverdale

Knights clip Eagles in final seconds; Kelseyville wins battle of league leaders
Kyle Ellis worked his magic on offense and then defense Tuesday night as the Kelseyville Knights took over sole possession of first place in the North Central League I varsity boys basketball standings with a down-to-the-wire 59-56 victory over the Cloverdale Eagles at Kelseyville High School.
Ellis, who in many ways is the Jayson McMillan of the Cloverdale Eagles although the two seniors play different positions for their respective teams, buried a 3-pointer from the wing with 3.1 seconds remaining to snap a 56-all tie and elevate the Knights into the league’s penthouse at 8-1, their only loss a 63-50 decision at Cloverdale on Jan. 6. While the Eagles (7-2 league, 14-6 overall) had enough time left to try for a game-winning shot of their own, Ellis stole the inbounds pass.
“He just drilled it,” Kelseyville coach Scott Conrad said of Ellis’ second 3-pointer of the game.
While the Knights now own a one-game lead over the two-time defending league champions, both teams still have five games remaining, including two more this week alone. Cloverdale plays at Middletown (3-6) on Thursday night before returning home Saturday to face winless Willits (0-9). Kelseyville plays at Willits on Thursday and is home Saturday to take on Lower Lake (5-4).
“The kids have earned this great spot, but we just need to play the rest of our games like each one is our biggest of the season,” Conrad said.
Cloverdale took a 45-39 lead into the fourth quarter and had an eight-point lead before the Knights stormed back. They ended up outscoring the Eagles 20-11 in the final period.
Cloverdale erased a four-point lead late in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 56. The Knights inbounded the ball with 30 seconds remaining and worked the clock down to 10 before running a play they had been working on in practice for some time, according to Conrad. Ellis was able to spring free at the last second before launching his game-winning shot. He finished with 13 points despite playing on a sore ankle. Trey Conrad, the son of the Kelseyville coach, led the Knights with 18 points while Ean Valenzuela had 10 and Randy Pfann had 8.
McMillan’s 19 points paced the Eagles, who had their seven-game league winning streak and an eight-game winning streak overall snapped. Gage Hoover added 15 points, including three 3-pointers and Christian Rivera finished with 10 points.
The top four league finishers qualify for the NCL I postseason tournament later this month at Mendocino College in Ukiah. While the first two spots are spoken for, the battle for third and fourth place is between five teams. Clear Lake and Lower Lake are currently tied for third place at 5-4, Fort Bragg and St. Helena are 4-5, and Middletown is 3-6.