Eagle Men Start Conference 3-0

After a difficult preseason schedule that included many of the top teams in Northern California but not a lot of victories, College of the Siskiyous' men's basketball team is 3-0 and on top of the Golden Valley Conference standings.

Sandwiched between double-digit victories at Shasta January 11 and at home against Lassen Saturday afternoon, the Eagles rallied from a 13-point deficit to win a thriller on their home court last Wednesday night against Butte, 76-74.

Next up is defending champion Redwoods (1-2 GVC, 11-10) this Wednesday night in Eureka, then home again Saturday at 1 p.m. to face Feather River (2-0 GVC, 7-13).

Other than the Eagles and Feather River, the other GVC teams finished the week with at least 2 losses. Lassen is 2-2, Butte 1-2, Shasta 0-3.

Head coach Kyle Heath was expecting a wide-open conference race this winter, and he was proud of his team's effort against Butte in their first home game in nearly two months. "They kept battling," Heath said. "I think we played harder. We wanted it more. We know we have to play hard and out-work guys."

The Eagles started their rally against Butte at the end of the first half and trailed by 8 at the intermission, 36-28. Then they had what Heath felt was their best second half start of the season. Once they took the lead, they never trailed again. But it was close all the way.

The Eagles made 19 of their 30 shots (53%) in the second half and were 4 for 7 on three-point tries. For the game, they were 26 for 50 on two-point shots, while Butte did most of its scoring from long range with 15 threes on 35 attempts and only 6 two-point baskets.

"We were passing more and had some big stops," Heath said of the second half. "We stuck to the game plan and made plays."

Four Eagle starters scored in double-figures against Butte, led by Dylan Neufeld's 23 points. Landon Ellis scored 17, Cole Bernius 15, Tanner Jolley 10, and Nick Dore 7. Matthew McEwen, the only rotation player to score, had 4 points on a pair of lay-ins and 2 offensive rebounds.

A three by Neufeld and a score by Jolley from beneath the basket got the Eagles on top, 37-36, early in the second half.

A Neufeld jumper late in the half upped the lead to 72-68. Then Neufeld made a steal and hit another jumper, and Jolley blocked a shot as the clock ticked under 2:00 with the Eagles up by 6.

Butte closed that gap in a hurry with just over a minute to play on a three and-one.

Just 5 seconds remained on the shot clock when Jolley sent shock waves through the gym with a jam that turned out to be the game's final score with 34 seconds left.

Butte's next possession ended quickly when Cameron Collard dove for a loose ball, and the Eagles called time out.

It was still a two-point game when Butte got the ball back and missed a final shot from in close with Jolley soaring high in the air to defend. The Eagles got the rebound, and Neufeld lofted a long pass to Bernius, who was alone under the basket but just dribbled away the final seconds as the crowd roared.

Heath praised his team for turning the ball over just 8 times in the game and only 3 times in the second half.

Neufeld, who also dove to corral a loose ball that the Eagles' forced earlier in the half, finished with 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals.

Jolley had a team-high 7 rebounds and shot 4 for 7 from the field, including a tip-in dunk in the first half.

Ellis had 6 rebounds and made 8 of his 16 field goal tries. Bernius had 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks. Dore was 3 for 6 from the field and had 2 rebounds. Collord had 3 rebounds and an assist while playing as part of the small lineup Heath deployed for large parts of the second half because of what he saw as a match-up advantage.

Heath said Bernius played with "a lot of energy" against Butte's 7-foot center Jessy Maximin, who had a dunk early in the game but didn't score again.

Heath described Jolley as "a freak athlete," who took a couple years off from basketball after high school and was working in construction last year. Now Jolley is defending against opposing teams' best player and beginning to heed his coach's request that he be more aggressive on offense.

The Eagles seemed to carry momentum from the Butte win into Saturday afternoon's home game against Lassen. They led 37-31 at the half and pulled away for an 82-65 victory.

Neufeld was 9 of 16 from the field, 3 for 6 on threes, 4 for 4 on free throws, and finished with 25 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.

Ellis had 6 steals, 7 assists and scored 18 points on 8 for 15 shooting. Bernius led the team with 10 rebounds, 5 of them on the offensive side. He scored his 14 points on 6 for 10 shooting and added 2 steals.

Dore had 8 points and 8 rebounds. Jolley made 5 of his 6 shot attempts to score 10 points. Collord made both of his field goal attempts and finished with 5 points. McEwen made 2 free throws and had 2 assists.

As a team, the Eagles made 55 percent of their shots from the floor against Lassen and 59.5 percent in their 71-58 conference-opening win at Shasta on January 11, a game they led 34-16 at half time.

Ellis had a near-perfect shooting night at Shasta. He connected on 7 of 8 field goals tries, was 2 for 2 from deep, and 5 for 5 from the free throw line. He also had 4 rebounds and 5 assists.

Neufeld made a pair of threes and finished with 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Bernius was 4 for 8 from the field and scored 10 points with 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks. Dore had 6 points and 4 rebounds.

Eight Eagles came off the bench against Shasta: Collard scored 5 points, Starz Saavedra 5, Cian Campbell 4, McEwen 3, and Ajay Hodge 1. Alex Padilla had a rebound, Daniel Yancey had a rebound and an assist, and Bryce Rollins played.

By Steve Gerace