KNIGHTS UP TO THE TASK, 69-68
Kelseyville upsets McKinleyville in first round, No. 3 seed Ygnacio Valley up next in quarters
Kelseyville lost to McKinleyville in its first game of the season and the Knights were determined not to lose to the Panthers in their last. The team's seniors made sure that didn't happen Wednesday night.
Behind 25 points from Luke Watkins, 10 of those in the fourth quarter, 19 points from Manny Acosta and another eight from Earl Lingcong, the 11th-seeded Kelseyville squad avenged a 61-50 loss to McKinleyville way back on Nov. 26 at McKinleyville by ending the sixth-seeded Panthers' season, 69-68, in the first round of the North Coast Section Division 4 boys basketball playoffs at McKinleyville High School.
The upset victory moves Kelseyville (17-10), the North Central League I runner-up, into the Division 4 quarterfinals Saturday against No. 3 seed Ygnacio Valley. Tip-off is 7 p.m. at the Concord high school. Ygnacio Valley (20-5) had a firstround bye Wednesday.
“I have no idea,” Kelseyville head coach Oscar Lopez said when asked if he knew anything about the Ygnacio Valley squad. “But we're here to play the big boys, we want a piece of them.”
Kelseyville's big road upset was pretty much a senior affair outside of a 13-point night from sophomore Kyle Watkins, according to Lopez, who said his veterans know exactly what's at stake at this point of the season. “Win or go home,” Lopez said. Luke Watkins hit a big 3-pointer down the stretch for the Knights but it was his two free throws, that following his block and steal at the other end of the floor, that sealed the victory as Kelseyville went up by five. Watkins drew the foul, stepped to the free-throw line and buried both ends of the double-bonus.
McKinleyville cut the lead to one but ran out of time.
Manny Acosta had five 3-pointers among his 19 points, and he helped set the tone early as Kelseyville opened up a 17-9 first-quarter lead.
“It was the Luke and Manny show early on,” Lopez said.
McKinleyville closed the gap to 36-32 by halftime but Kelseyville had a 53-45 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Two other seniors — Lingcong and Joey Gentle — also came up big for the Knights.
“Earl came off the bench and played fantastic,” Lopez said. “He controlled the ball and helped us get into our offense.”
Gentle finished with only two points but his defense at key points of the game helped shut down the Panthers.
“We knew what we had to do,” Lopez said. “We focused on