KELSEYVILLE — It almost was like starting over for the Kelseyville and Clear Lake varsity boys basketball teams Tuesday night as they played their first games in nearly three weeks following a slew of COVID-19 postponements.

Kelseyville's Earl Lingcong (top) and Joey Gentle defend down low against a Fort Bragg player. (Photos courtesy of Coral Pratt)

In a full slate of North Central League I action, the Fort Bragg Timberwolves beat Kelseyville 43-36 at Kelseyville while Clear Lake fell 62-49 to the St. Helena Saints in St.Helena. In other action, Cloverdale remained undefeated on the season with a 75-38 win at Lower Lake, and Upper Lake turned back Calistoga 45-37 in NCL II play at Upper Lake.

Kelseyville

Minus brothers Luke and Kyle Watkins because of COVID-19, the Kelseyville Knights (2-1 league, 6-7 overall) couldn't overcome their own lethargic play to beat the Timberwolves (2-4).

"Sloppy defense and we gave up too many fouls," Kelseyville head coach Oscar Lopez said. "Not playing for two weeks, it showed. Everyone is going to have a hiccup or two because of the layoff."

Fort Bragg led only 33-31 going to the fourth quarter but Kelseyville could score only five points in the final period.

The Timberwolves went 15-for-33 from the free-throw line to the Knights' 6-for-13.

Earl Lingcong led Kelseyville with nine points, including a pair of 3-pointers, Jake Keithly added seven points and Kyle Leary had six.

Kelseyville's Kyle Leary soars to the basket against Fort Bragg.

"Kudos to them," Lopez said of the Timberwolves. "They earned it."

The Watkins brothers could both be back on the floor Thursday when the Knights host undefeated Cloverdale in a four-game set.

"I'm hoping so," Lopez said.

Kelseyville won the junior varsity game 57-52 behind 20 points and two 3-pointers from Tyler Bryant, 14 points from Max Hommer, 13 from Diego Lopez, who had three 3-pointers, and eight points from Ryder Leary.

Clear Lake

St. Helena took control of the game in the first half although Clear Lake made a run at the Saints late, getting as close as six points.

"We were lethargic, I don't know if it was the layoff or what," Clear Lake head coach Mike Damiata said of the 38-18 deficit his team faced at halftime. "We didn't have a whole lot of energy. I told them at halftime I was going to play the guys that had the most energy, I don't care who they are."

Two sophomores provided the energy Damiata was looking for in the second half. Jake Soderquist, in his first outing of the year after missing the Cardinals' first 10 games with a shoulder injury sustained during football season, led the Cardinals with 13 points while Cody Hayes added nine more.

"Jake is a sophomore point guard and he played really well," Damiata said. "He sees the floor well, he plays defense. I'm really happy with his play."

Added Damiata, "Hayes gave us really good energy off the bench. He had some good rebounds and hit a 3-pointer."

While a 19-5 second quarter put Clear Lake in a deep halftime hole, the Cardinals were able to outscore the Saints 31-24 in the second half.

"We suited up 10 guys and they all played significant minutes," Damiata said. "This team has a lot of depth."

Clear Lake (2-1, 6-5) had its 30-game league winning streak snapped.

The Cardinals also came up short in the JV game, falling 41-38. Raul Reyes and Graden Greer led Clear Lake with eight points apiece.

"We hadn't played a game since Dec. 30," Clear Lake head coach Shady Cerezo said. "We missed so many shots right underneath the basket. We've got to get back in the swing of things."

Clear Lake's teams are scheduled to return to action Thursday in Middletown.

Lower Lake

Minus their leading scorer on the season, Marquis Jones, the Lower Lake Trojans fell to the Cloverdale Eagles, now 7-0 in the NCL I standings and 17-0 overall. Jones missed the game in COVID-19 protocol but could be back in time for the Trojans' next game Friday in Willits.

Lower Lake (1-4, 1-12) stayed close for a quarter but Cloverdale began to pull away early in the second period, using an 11-2 run to go up 33-17. The Eagles led 40-24 at halftime.

"In the second half we didn't move the ball very well and got complacent," Lower Lake head coach Jay Jakubowski said.

Jett Guralas' 13 points led the Trojans while Micah Gurule added 12 and Dylan Sherman six.

"Micah stepped up. He's a tough kid who is playing aggressively. He got to the basket."

Jakubowski also gave high marks to the play of Isaiah Robinson and Mason Barnes.

"He (Robinson) gave me some quality minutes on defense," Jakubowski said. "Mason hustled and played with a lot of energy. He had some steals and rebounds and I really thought he played a great game. He did all the little things."

In the JV game, Cloverdale defeated Lower Lake 75-38.

Upper Lake

That's two league wins in a row for the Upper Lake Cougars, who avenged a 56-48 loss to the Calistoga Wildcats back on Dec. 14 in Calistoga.

"We shared the ball, played together and played great defense," Upper Lake head coach Miles Hayes said of the Cougars' performance during the first three quarters when they built a 43-23 lead. "Blaine Rhodes and Kai Young led the defense."

Upper Lake was minus the services of one of its top players, senior Kyle Grandi, who missed the game because of illness, according to Hayes. Erick Espinoza started in Grandi's place and helped anchor the Cougars' strong defensive showing as did reserve Angel Fuentes.

Darian Loans Arrow powered the Upper Lake offense with 13 points, including three 3-pointers, Sammy Avalos added 11 points and Rhodes chipped in nine more.

Calistoga closed the gap with a 14-2 fourth quarter but the Wildcats were never closer than the final score.

Upper Lake's varsity plays Friday against Tech in Rohnert Park. Tech beat Upper Lake 43-36 earlier this month in Upper Lake.

In the JV game, Calistoga edged Upper Lake 44-38 in a double-overtime thriller. The Cougars (2-4, 2-5) trailed by seven points early in the first overtime but came back to tie the score on a Connor Vogel layup with two seconds left. Vogel was fouled on the play but missed the free throw.

"We were gassed after that," Upper Lake head coach Thomas Santana said of the second extra period.

Dillon Jones scored 14 points as the Cougars fell to 2-4 in league and 2-5 overall. Vogel finished with seven points and James Stiritz had six.

Upper Lake's JVs host Grace Academy on Friday at 4:30 p.m.