Home contests for two middle school squads

Both fall to Zane and to Sunny Brae

Saige Swan of the Crescent Elk 8th grade boys basketball team looks to take a shot against Sunny Brae on Saturday at the Foursquare Church Gym in Crescent City. Del Norte Triplicate/Rick Postal

While both squads lost, they showed improvement that pleased their coaches.

The Crescent Elk boys squad lost to Sunny Brae 46-44.

Head coach John Horner said this was quite an improvement after they lost by over 20 points in their first two meetings of the year to this opponent. They also fell to Zane in the second game 59-56 after losing by 30 points the last time they played.

“I feel that our team’s improving,” Horner said. “We are coming together and getting better.”

Against Sunny Brae, Saige Swan had 16 points while Victor De Los Santos had 15 points. In the Zane game, Swan had 22 points while De Los Santos had another 15 point game.

Crescent Elk fell to 3-12 for the year.

Aaron Keeton of the Redwood 8th grade boys basketball team of Fort Dick looks to pass to teammate Jordan Ridgley on Saturday against Sunny Brae. Del Norte Triplicate/Rick Postal

Against Zane its was a competitive affair the whole game, with Redwood faltering at the end to lose 47-44.

Against Sunny Brae, Jordan Ridgley had 24 points and Aaron Keeton had 16 points. In the Zane game, Ridgely finished with 18 points while Kyle Cleland had 12 points.

Redwood fell to 10-9 for the season.  They have a game up in Gold Beach, Ore., on  Wednesday  and head to a tournament in Healdsburg this weekend.

Redwood and Crescent Elk will meet for the third time this season on Feb. 21 at a location to be determined. Redwood has won the previous two meetings this season.

Both coaches said their teams are looking forward to ending the season with the 44th annual Crescent City Jaycees 8th grade Boys Basketball Tournament. The event takes place  on March 2 and 3 at locations throughout Del Norte County.