MEL GOOD TOURNAMENT: Big second half lifts RV

Down by as many as 14 points in the first half, River Valley High's boys basketball erupted after halftime and rolled to a 71-61 victory over Encinal of Alameda on the second day of the 48th annual Mel Good Holiday Classic at Honker Gym in Yuba City on Friday night.

Senior guard Deepak Leal led the way by hitting four 3-pointers to finish with a game-high 18 points for the Falcons, who battled back to outscore the Jets 36-24 in the second half.

"We came out flat in the first quarter, but then the kids woke up and started to respond," River Valley coach Brad McIntire said. "We created more turnovers in the second half and increased our aggressiveness to pull it out."

Senior forward Stuart Bradley scored 14 points and fellow senior Jordan Noall chipped in with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Falcons, who have won three out of their last four games to improve to 5-7 on the year.

Junior Cris Lamas pulled down 10 rebounds as well.

"The difference is our physicality and our ability to handle other team's pressure," McIntire said of his team's recent success. "They're starting to play more relaxed and they're starting to comprehend what we want them to do."

The Falcons close out tournament play against West Campus today at 3 p.m.

Yuba City 75, West Campus 62

The host Honkers rebounded from Thursday night's tough loss to Lincoln of San Francisco with a victory over the Warriors in the second day of tournament play.

Nathan Gillming scored 15 points to lead the Honkers, while Kyle Turnquest and Gurpreet Singh each put up 13 points. Travis Blas was the other Honker player in double-figures with 11 points.

Senior Taylor Elkins did a little bit of everything with eight assists and eight rebounds, while Louis Mowers brought in 11 rebounds for Yuba City (4-6).

The Honkers close out the Mel Good with a 4:30 p.m. matchup against Monterey Trail.