File photo – Jaeden Thayer was one of seven Eureka seniors honored Tuesday night.

The Loggers celebrated their seniors on Tuesday night, and all seven of them played a part in a 66-52 win over visiting McKinleyville.

Jaeden Thayer led the way, finishing with a team-high 13 points, as the Eureka boys closed out the Big 5 with a record of 3-5 (16-9 overall) and at the very least guaranteed themselves of a playoff game for a place in next week’s Dick Niclai tournament.

“It was a big win for us,” Eureka head coach Robbie Thompson said. “Hopefully that will put us in third.”

The Loggers must now play the waiting game and see how the Fortuna boys (2-5) fare against Arcata in their Big 5 finale on Thursday.

If the Huskies lose, Eureka will finish alone in third and qualify to play Arcata in the opening round of the Niclai.

On Tuesday, the Eureka seniors took care of business.

“It was senior night, and they came out ready to play amongst all the hoopla,” Thompson said. 

All seven seniors scored.

File photo – Trevor Bell

In addition to Thayer, Trevor Bell scored 11, and Cahliel Garber 10, while Gary Jimenez (nine), Grant Barrera (five), Miles Meynell (two) and Josiah Graham (one) rounded out the scoring.

Thompson described this year’s class as “huge, huge, huge.”

“To go from where we were then to where we are now, it’s a testament to them and their hard work and commitment to the program,” the coach said.

Michael Boatright continued to impress for the Panthers, who dropped to 1-6 in the Big 5, as did Carson Parker and Conner Alto.

Fortuna 74, South Fork 58

The Huskies ended a four-game losing skid with a 74-58 win over visiting South Fork on Tuesday night.

Jaeden Kelley scored a team-high 19 points for Fortuna, while Fernando Atilano added 16 points.

With the win, the Huskies improved to 10-15, while South Fork is now 13-9.

Both teams close out league play on Thursday, when South Fork travels to St Bernard’s with the Little 4 title up for grabs, and Fortuna hosts Arcata in the Big 5 needing a win to remain in contention for the Dick Niclai tournament.