Races will heat up next week
County's NCL I teams play three games instead of two
LAKE COUNTY >> The North Central League I boys and girls basketball races shift into maximum overdrive next week when Clear Lake, Kelseyville, Lower Lake, Middletown and their out-of-county competition play three games instead of the traditional two.
All eight NCL I schools are in action Monday, Wednesday and Friday next week instead of the traditional Tuesday-Friday alignment.
NCL I teams play a 14-game league schedule that begins in early January and runs through mid-February. Sectional and state playoffs follow. Teams reached the midway point of the league season on Friday night and open the second half Monday when Clear Lake takes on St. Helena (girls home, boys away), Kelseyville plays Middletown (girls games in Kelseyville, boys games in Middletown), and Lower Lake plays Fort Bragg (girls away, boys home).
Wednesday’s schedule has Clear Lake vs. Willits (girls away, boys home), Kelseyville vs. Fort Bragg (girls home, boys away), Cloverdale vs. Lower Lake (girls home, boys away), and Middletown vs. St. Helena (girls away, boys home).
On Friday, Jan. 31, it’s Clear Lake vs. Middletown (four-game set in Lakeport), Kelseyville vs. Cloverdale (girls away, boys
home), and Willits vs.
Lower Lake (girls home, boys away).
As the schools approached the halfway mark going into their Friday, Jan. 24 games, Clear Lake (defending champion) and Cloverdale were teams to beat in the varsity boys race, Cloverdale (defending champion) and Middletown were the teams to beat in the varsity girls race, Clear Lake (defending champion) and Middletown were the frontrunners in the junior varsity boys race, and Clear Lake and Middletown (defending champion) were frontrunners in the JV girls race.