ULHS boys nail down first league win

Grandi, Young, Avalos scored in double digits in 56-47 victory

UPPER LAKE >> Kyle Grandi had a double-double, including a team-high 21 points, and the Upper Lake Cougars put together four solid quarters of basketball to beat the Credo Gryphon 56-47 in North Central League II varsity boys action Friday night at Upper Lake.

It was Upper Lake’s first league win, a welcome relief for head coach Miles Hayes.

“We played a good four quarters, shared the ball, played good defense,” Hayes said. “They stuck together.”

Upper Lake had no shortage of heroes while improving to 1-4 in league and 7-8 overall, and Hayes said he is confident his team can finish strong if the COVID-19 craziness of the last three weeks allows his team to resume anything approaching a normal practice schedule during the final three weeks of the regular season.

“If we can do that, we could be a very dangerous team,” Hayes said.

While Grandi had a big game for the Cougars, he wasn’t alone. Kai Young scored 17 points for the second game in a row, Sammy Avalos added 10 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, and Blaine Rhodes made all five of his points count, including a layup right before halftime to give Upper Lake a 30-27 lead and some much-needed momentum, according to Hayes.

He also went 3-for-4 from the free-throw line down the stretch to seal the victory.

“The kids played well,” Hayes said.

The Cougars suited up seven players for this one, just two nights after suiting up only six in a 55-41 league loss at Sonoma Academy. Playing his first game of the season was junior Angel Fuentes, who contributed a 3-pointer, one of nine treys on the night for the Cougars.

The two teams were never separated by much. It was 1414 after one quarter and 45-37 going to the final period. Credo made a late run to creep to within four points of the Cougars, but could get no closer.

Upper Lake is home Tuesday to take on Calistoga.

It was another tough loss for the Upper Lake junior varsity boys, who fell 40-37 to Credo despite 12 points from Dillon Jones and nine apiece from Nick and Jon Barnes.

“We’re getting better every game,” Upper Lake head coach Thomas Santana said. “We’re young, a mostly freshman team with a couple of sophomores. We’re making a lot of young mistakes.”

Upper Lake spent the entire night chasing Credo on the scoreboard.

“We would bounce back and get it close, then they would take off again,” Santana said.

Upper Lake is now 2-3 in league play and 2-4 overall.

“Every game has been close,” Santana said. “It’s just a matter of taking the next step.”