Shannon Morrow
Sports Editor
1/27/2010

Portola fans had an enjoyable evening at Portola High School last Friday night, as they watched their boys’ and girls’ basketball teams defeat Loyalton in their league openers.

The Portola boys won 61-41, and the Portola girls won 46-27.

In the boys’ match, the Tigers took a 20-14 lead by the end of the first quarter, and stretched their lead to 35-22 at halftime.

The teams played fairly evenly though the third quarter, and then Portola outscored Loyalton 14-6 in the final period for a 20-point victory.

“I was nervous about that game,” said Portola coach Brad Miller. “I didn’t know how we’d play.”

Portola hadn’t played for over two weeks, and was coming off a 20-point loss to Truckee. In addition, Loyalton has a good boys’ basketball team this year.

“We played well,” said Miller. “I was pleased. I don’t tell them that very often.”

Miller said it was a great way to open the league schedule. The Feather River League has become tougher this year, as the

Chester and Loyalton teams have grown stronger.

In Portola’s win last Friday, Cliff Robinson and Mario Rodriguez each turned in a double-double for the Tigers. Robinson totaled 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Rodriguez recorded 13 points and 15 rebounds.

Les Carr and Dillon Soares each claimed eight points, and Kyle Heskett scored seven.

Erick Miller led with four steals, and Carr snagged three. Heskett led with five assists.

In the girls’ match, the Lady Tigers took a 10-2 advantage at the end of the first quarter and a 24-11 lead at halftime.

Early in the fourth quarter, Loyalton worked back to within eight points with a score of 32-24, but the Tigers put the game away with a 14-3 run.

No statistics were available from the girls’ match.