Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — The Corsairs were clearly in no mood to be denied on Wednesday night, putting an exclamation point on what has been a thrilling season on the basketball court with an emphatic win over their closest challengers.

The Redwoods men took control of the game early and never relented, putting up their biggest points tally of the season on the way to steamrolling a stunned Shasta 109-84.

The win was achieved in front of yet another packed house, eager to see this exhilarating squad in action one more time.

The Knights came into the showdown just one win back of the Corsairs in the Golden Valley Conference standings but were outmatched from the get-go.

They trailed 54-32 at halftime, and the deficit quickly grew from there, stretching to 32 just a few minutes into the second half.

“We had an incredible first half, which really told the whole story in terms of tone,” CR head coach Ryan Bisio said. “I felt we were the aggressor in everything we did.”

CR’s AJ Stubbs reacts during Wednesday’s game.

It was as dynamic a half of basketball as this team has played all season, as the players rose to the occasion and fed off the energy of an appreciative home crowd.

“Tonight the energy was really palpable,” Bisio said.

The CR men will find out their playoff seed on Monday and will likely host either Friday or Saturday night of next week.

Thomas Nelson was hugely influential in the win, as he has been all winter in what has been a sensational sophomore campaign for the former Arcata Tiger.

Nelson finished with 31 points in limited minutes, as Bisio gave his bench plenty of playing time.

Thomas Nelson

Donald Willis added 20 points, Drew Gillette 18 and both Bradley Willis and Isaac Puzz 13 each.

The championship is the fifth all-time at CR and  fourth outright, 

The Corsairs close out the regular season with a 21-5 record, their most wins since 2001/02, equaling their third highest wins total ever in a  single season.