High school basketball roundup: Petaluma boys beat El Molino 68-44 in Sonoma County League opener

The Petaluma High boys basketball team, looking every bit like a top contender for the Sonoma County League crown, opened conference play Tuesday night by defeating visiting El Molino, 68-44.

Leading the offense with 25 points was Ryan Perez and behind him with 20 was Joey Potts.

The Trojans began to pull away in the second quarter and held a 32-22 advantage at halftime.

Petaluma poured in 28 in the third quarter and then held the Lions to only five points in the fourth.

“We switched to zone defense in the fourth quarter and El Molino couldn’t handle it,” Petaluma coach Scott Behrs said.

“We played a better second half than first half on both sides of the ball. On defense, we wanted to contain their big man (Eric Nils-Carlson) and we did that. Also, we wanted to work the ball around better and we were able to accomplish that.”

Nils-Carlson led the Lions with 15, most of those coming in the first half.

El Molino was hurt by poor free throw shooting. The Lions made only 11 of 22.

The Lions are 4-10 and Petaluma’s record is 6-5.

In other SCL opening night action:

PINER 54, HEALDSBURG 46

At Piner, the Prospectors overcame the Greyhounds’ height advantage to pull out the victory.

Healdsburg led by five at intermission but Piner rallied in the third to go ahead by two heading to the fourth quarter.

“We did a better job boxing out and hitting the glass in the second half,” Prospectors coach Mike Erickson said.

“In fact, this was the best second half of basketball we’ve played this season.”

Scott Erickson led the offense with 20, including 13 in the second half. Jace Foster added 16 with 10 of those coming after intermission. Andres Barragan contributed seven and nailed a key 3-point shot in the second half.

Piner is 6-7 and Healdsburg drops to 8-4.

SONOMA VALLEY 48, ELSIE ALLEN 41

At Sonoma Valley, the Dragons limited the Lobos to nine points in the first half and then withstood a rally to begin league play with a win.

Elsie Allen got back in the game by winning the third quarter, 18-9.

However, Luke Severson and Max Gustafson took over in the fourth by scoring eight points apiece.

Severson finished with a game-high 14 while Gustafson contributed 10.

“I was pleased with the defensive effort,” Dragons coach Mike Boles said. “That’s what we’ve been emphasizing. We had a rough third quarter but we’ll clean a few things up before our next game.”

In girls NBL opening-night action:

CARDINAL NEWMAN 72, MONTGOMERY 28

At Cardinal Newman, the Cardinals served notice the league title will go through them.

The stifling Newman defense kept the Vikings under double digits in three of the four quarters. They allowed 10 in the second.

“The girls were ready to play,” coach Monica Mertle said. “I was happy with the unselfish way we shared the ball.” As a team, Newman had 19 assists.

The Cardinals had four players score in double figures--Lauren Walker (15), Maiya Flores (14), Avery Cargill (12) and Taylor Heckstrom (11).

For Montgomery, LaDonna Saint Louis led the way with seven.

MARIA CARRILLO 51, RANCHO COTATE 45

At Maria Carrillo, the Pumas won the game by converting 21 of 29 free throws.

The score was 19-19 at the halfway point and Carrillo led by one heading to the fourth quarter.

“We made 29 turnovers and that killed us,” Cougars coach Mario Newton said. “Most of those were in transition, so that makes it even worse.”

WINDSOR 53, UKIAH 43 (OT)

At Ukiah, Gabby Giddings notched a double-double for the visitors with 14 points and 14 rebounds.

The Wildcats’ Lily Mendoza sank a free throw with less than a second remaining to send the game into overtime.

Windsor scored the first four points of the extra period and never looked back.

“I was pleased with the outcome,” Jaguars coach Jeff Paul said. “However, we missed a lot of easy shots and made too many turnovers. We’re young and need to clean things up.”

For Ukiah, Cassidy Schutz and Ellie Malicay shared scoring honors with 12 apiece.

CASA GRANDE 45, SANTA ROSA 44

At Santa Rosa, the outcome wasn’t decided until the Panthers missed a shot with three seconds remaining.

Emily Codding’s eight-foot baseline shot hit the front of the rim, went into the basket and then bounced out.

The Panthers trailed by six with two minutes to go.

Casa was led in scoring by Cassidy McKinney with 16.

Maria Lopez had 18 for Santa Rosa while Codding finished with 14.