Photo by Steve Kinder – Action from the Arcata/Lick-Wilmerding playoff game on Wednesday night.

Nine of the 12 H-DNL teams in action on Wednesday night won their opening games in the North Coast Section playoffs.

BOYS

St. Bernard’s 66, Averroes 38

The Crusaders, who are seeded No. 1 in the Division-VI bracket, comfortably took care of business in their opening matchup, to set up a Saturday night showdown at home to Credo.

Bode Joyner and Owen Shanahan each scored 12 in the win, while Lane Thrap added 11 and Remy Campbell eight.

“It was a good game,” St. Bernard’s head coach Steve Thrap said. “Everybody got to play and we got some good minutes from a lot of guys.”

Arcata 52, Lick-Wilmerding 38

The Arcata Tigers pulled away from the visiting Lick-Wilmerding Tigers in the fourth quarter, outscoring them 25-8 for the period.

Six different Arcata players scored in the late rally, as the home team broke open a tight game.

“The kids did a good job down the stretch executing,” said Arcata head coach Dusty Scofield, whose team is seeded No. 7 in Division IV and will now advance to play at No. 2 seed San Marin on Saturday.

The visitors gave the Tigers all they could handle early on.

“I think from a defensive standpoint Lick-Wilmerding did a nice job in their zone,” Scofield said. “And I think it took our kids a little bit to figure it out.”

Niko Zambas and Garrett Hall each scored a team-high 10 points in the win, while freshman Brandon Bento-Jackson added nine points, all in the fourth quarter, including going 6-of-8 at the free-throw line.

And that wasn’t his only contribution.

“Brandon did a nice job getting us into our zone offense,” the head coach said of Bento-Jackson, who has enjoyed an outstanding freshman campaign.

Junior guard Aidan Akins also had a big impact off the bench, as he has all season, nailing a pair of second-half 3-pointers.

“He’s been super solid all year,” Scofield said. “And he continues to improve.”

Del Norte 56, Middletown 43

As expected, the No. 5 Warriors advanced to a Division-IV quarterfinal showdown at No. 4 University in San Francisco on Saturday night, although they were tested.

The Del Norte boys had the better of the early exchanges, outscoring the visiting Mustangs in each of the opening two quarters to lead by 16 at the interval.

The visitors, however, came out battling in the third quarter, pulling to within six at one stage as the Warriors struggled to maintain their earlier intensity.

“We came out of the gates and we played really well, at both ends of the court,” head coach Marc Slayton said. “But in the third quarter we were out-played, out-hustled, out-executed.”

The Warriors, however, finished the game the stronger of the two teams, stretching the lead back up to 12 after three quarters and then outscoring the Mustangs 16-11 in the fourth.

And they can thank their seniors.

Anthony Slayton had a big game, finishing with a team-high 20 points, doing a good job attacking the baskets.

Omar Banuelos also stepped up, particularly early on, scoring 12 of his 16 points in the first half.

Kobe Mitchell also had a big impact, particularly defensively, turning in a “phenomenal” performance, according to his coach, while guarding the Mustang’s most dangerous offensive player.

Mitchell also had 10 points.

Ferndale 72, Roseland Prep 27

The Wildcats outscored the visiting Grizzlies in each of the four quarters on Wednesday night, comfortably advancing to a second-round Division-VI matchup at home to Emery on Saturday night.

Ferndale is the No. 4 seed in the bracket and Emery the No. 5 seed.

The ever-dangerous Tristen Martin scored a game-high 20 points in the win, and Lane Branstetter added 10 points, as the Cats remained on course for a possible semifinal showdown with Little 4 rivals St. Bernard’s, the top seed in the bracket.

Emmitt Albee chipped in eight points, with Javier Lopez and Wyatt Henrikson each scoring seven to round out a balanced team performance.

South Fork 72, Round Valley 45

The No. 3 Cubs also comfortably advanced in the Division-VI bracket and will now host SF Waldorf on Saturday night.

The South Fork boys took control of the game early and led by 20 at halftime.

Cameron Messenger scored a game-high 17 points, while Alex Harding finished with 15 points and Oliver Tatton 13.

GIRLS

Fortuna 55, Terra Linda 41

The Huskies got back to winning ways with a clutch performance on Wednesday, taking control of the game in the second half with their trademark stellar defense.

The Fortuna girls, seeded No 6 in Division IV, held the visiting Terra Linda girls to just 13 points in the second half as they took control of a tight game.

The Huskies were outscored in each of the first two quarters and trailed by six at halftime, before the second-half rally.

Charlotte Carroll scored 16 points to lead a balanced team performance, with Gracie Betts scoring 12.

Moncerrat Bernal also had a big game, finishing with nine points, while McKenzie Emmons added seven, and Morgan Murray and Gabby Stephens four each.

The win sets up a quarterfinal matchup at No. 3 Marin Catholic on Saturday evening.

McKinleyville 47, Urban 54

The Panthers bowed out of the postseason on Wednesday night but pushed the higher seeded Blues all the way.

Hailee Henry led the way for Mack with 13 points, including three 3-pointers, while Rayn Tripp added 10 points and Cameron Heenan eight.

“We shot the ball well, but defensively we just couldn’t quite get it done today,” McKinleyville head coach Tony McClure said. “But we gave ourselves a shot.”

The Panthers were seeded No. 10 in Division IV and the Blues No. 7.

Kathryn Tinney added seven points for Mack, while Rian Heenan finished with six and Hope Kibby four.

Del Norte 45, St. Patrick/St. Vincent 66

Two of the best point guards in the North Coast Section were on hand in Vallejo on Wednesday night, as the No. 2 seed Bruins got the better of  No. 15 Del Norte in Division IV, ending the Warriors’ season.

St. Patrick/St. Vincent’s Tameiya Sadler and Del Norte’s Jadence Clifton put on a clinic in a game that was close for much of the night.

“For sure they’re the two best point guards in Division IV,” Del Norte head coach Justin Clifton said. “There was some talent on the court tonight.”

Jadence Clifton closed out her junior campaign with 25 points and 12 rebounds, while teammate Olivia Stilwell added eight points and a pair of rebounds.

Kirsten Brous also had an impact for the Warriors, finishing with six points and four rebounds, while Aleesha Lenover added five points and three rebounds and took five charges, three of them in the third quarter.

Lily Wilson had four rebounds.

“I’m very proud of these girls,” Justin Clifton said. “We gave them hell. Our team has heart. It was a fun game. It was a fun season.

“We’re a young team. We’ll be ready to go next year.”

Sadler, a senior, will play at Washington University next year.

St. Bernard’s  54, Healdsburg 46

The Crusaders overcame a slow start to get the better of the Greyhounds in their NCS Division-IV game on Wednesday, setting up a Saturday night showdown at No. 1 Saint Mary’s.

The No. 8 St. Bernard’s girls trailed by 10 points after the opening quarter but began to take over after that, pulling to within four by halftime.

The Crusaders outscored Healdsburg 21-2 in the third quarter to take control of the game.

“We really dominated at both ends of the court,” head coach Mark Gardner said of the third quarter.

Freshman standout Saulele Tanuvasa continued to lead the Crusaders with a game-high 32 points, while Shelby Jordan added nine and MacKenzie Finck five.

South Fork 42, Drew 47

Visiting Drew got the better of South Fork in the opening round of the Division-VI bracket.

Kaylei Valk scored a team-high 10 points in the loss, while Kaylee Cotter and Summer Contreras each finished with nine.

Macy Yarbrough and Michaela Mcmahan added seven points each, while Mcmahan also had eight rebounds and Yarbrough added six.

In other Division-VI action, No. 7 Ferndale beat Jewish Community 51-27 to set up a quarterfinal matchup at No. 2 Calistoga on Saturday.