Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The McKinleyville bench reacts during Friday’s game against Piner.

The Fortuna Huskies enjoyed a statement win at the Arcata tournament on Friday night, knocking off the host school for the first time in four years.

The Huskies won 69-49 to advance to Saturday’s championship game, where they will play Piner after the Prospectors defeated McKinleyville 68-52 in the other semifinal earlier in the evening.

The Eureka Loggers also played at the Arcata tournament on Friday, falling to Enterprise 45-40.

Piner wasted little time taking control of the game against McKinleyville, running out to a 21-9 lead after the opening quarter and never looking in danger of losing.

“We dug ourselves a hole,” Panthers head coach Cindy Semore Clancy said. 

For the second straight night, the Mack players shot poorly.

“Our shots were just not falling once again,” the head coach said. “And I think we got a little complacent and we didn’t run our offense well. We tried to do things on our own, and we have to continue to ruin our offense even when our shots aren’t falling.”

Jack Clancy scored a team-high 13 points in the loss, as the Panthers dropped to 4-2 on the season and 1-1 win tournament play. 

Cody Whitmer added 11 points, while Flynn Creighton finished with eight points and Jordan Brown had six.

“But I was happy with our effort,” said Semore Clancy, whose team closed out the game strong. “I feel we didn’t quit and we tried to get back into the game.”

The Huskies, meanwhile, were led by Russell Pascascio, who scored 20 points, while Alfonso Medina added 15 points and Cody Collins had 11.

“I will give a ton of credit to Fortuna, they played exceptionally well tonight and kicked our butts,” Arcata head coach Kellen Maynard said.

With the win, the Huskies improved to 6-2.

Luke Moxon scored a team-high 14 points for the Tigers, who dropped to 4-2 on the season, while Brandon Bento-Jackson added 11 points and Josiah Gomez 10.

The Arcata tournament concludes on Saturday with four more games. Eureka plays Buckingham Charter at 10 a.m., followed by Red Bluff and Enterprise at 11:30 a.m., Arcata and McKinleyville at 1 p.m. and Fortuna and Piner at 2:30 p.m.

Del Norte 72, St. Bernard’s 62

The Warriors welcomed back Wyatt Robson and ended a five-game losing streak at the Mt. Shasta tournament, handing St. Bernard’s its first loss of the season.

Robson returned from injury for the first time in almost a year and had an immediate impact, scoring 13 points, including three 3-pointers.

The impressive Aaiden Burris had a huge game for the Crusaders despite the loss and finished with a season-high 39 points, while scoring 11 of his team’s 17 field goals for the game.

The sensational Burris finished with eight 3s.

“Burris is just an electrifying scorer,” St. Bernard’s head coach Issac Gildea said.

Del Norte’s Ethan Thomas also continued his outstanding start to the new season and finished with a team-high 19 points, as the Warriors improved to 3-5.

Junior Merrick Crabb and sophomore Lyon Rigden also continued to impress for the Warriors, finishing with 15 and 11 points, respectively.

Seth Dyer finished with eight points for the Crusaders, who were missing some key players due to sickness, while Liam Dyer added five points.

Kai Russell also had six points for Del Norte.

The Warriors will play Lassen on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.

Weed 76, St. Bernard’s 60

Burris had another huge game for the Crusaders later in the day, before leaving the game in the second half with an injury.

The junior standout, who is not expected to miss a lot of time, scored 21 more points in a little more than half a game, including six more 3s.

In a game and a half on Friday, Burris drained 14 3s.

Seth Dyer also had a big game against Weed and finished with a team-high 22 points, including three 3s, while Wyatt Simoni added six points and Tyler Dimmick chipped in four.

The second loss of the day, which was played in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd, dropped the Crusaders to 4-2 on the season, but both defeats came against quality opponents and with a couple of key staters sidelined.

“We got better,” Gildea said. “And we’re ready to keep playing basketball and I like my team.

“Even though we lost, we were positive.”

The Crusaders will meet Weed again in two weeks at the Eureka tournament.

“We’re looking forward to a rematch in front of our fans,” Gildea said.

The Crusaders will close out the Mt. Shasta tournament against the host school on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.

Hoopa 66, Modoc 34

Brendan Baldy led a balanced offensive performance for the Warriors, who got their first win of the season at the Trinity Holiday Classic on Friday.

Baldy scored a team-high 14 points in the win, as the Hoopa boys improved to 1-5.

Brian Gulley added 11 points in the win, while Lane Campbell finished with 10 points and Geno Masten eight.

After giving up 17 points to Modoc in the opening quarter the Hoopa defense then held the Braves to 17 points the remainder of the game.

“We looked good today,” head coach Roman Hutt said. “We had a few defensive mistakes in the first quarter, but then picked it up and figured it out.”

Rodney Clarke and Brandon Romero each also had six points in the win.

“It was a very balanced performance,” Hutt said. “Everyone contributed.”

The Warriors, who improved to 1-1 in tournament play, will close out against Ferndale at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

Hayfork 47, Ferndale 46

Ferndale 60, Tule Lake 23

A shorthanded Wildcats team was edged out by Hayfork in its tournament opener at the Trinity Holiday Classic on Thursday, before rebounding with a comfortable win over Tule Lake on Friday.

Like it has with many of the H-DNL teams early in the season, sickness ravaged the Wildcats lineup this week, with several players and coaches sidelined.

“The rest of our team has struggled getting up and down the floor the first two games,” head coach Tristan Waters said. 

Kannon Christiansen continued to play well in both games and finished with a team-high 13 points against Hayfork, while the industrious Trent Titus and a fast-improving Isaac Kasso each chipped in eight points.

Leading scorer Jack Westfall returned to the lineup against Tule Lake and finished with a team-high 17 points.

“He was facilitating to his teammates and playing great defense,” Waters said of the team leader.

Christiansen added 14 points and made “plays all game defensively in the paint,” according to his coach. 

Kasso also continued to shine and finished with 11 points and several rebounds as he develops into a key part of this year’s team.

The Wildcats will play Hoopa on Saturday morning and will still be without a couple of key players.

“Hopefully our guys have enough in the tank to take care of business,” the head coach said. “We will do whatever it takes to put ourselves in the best position to succeed with what we have.”

South Fork 65, Round Valley 37

South Fork 59, Potter Valley 27

A shorthanded Cubs team advanced to the championship game at the Potter Valley tournament with two wins on Friday.

The Cubs will play Willits in the final and they got there without three starters because of sickness.

“But it has been a huge growing and bonding experience for the team and they are taking the challenge head on, playing some of our most connected basketball,” head coach Taylor Morrow said. 

The ever-consistent Tommy Rotbergs led the South Fork offense win both games, finishing with 26 points against Round Valley and 16 against Potter Valley.

Wesley Way also stepped up in the absence of so many players, finishing with 20 points over the two games, and he “has been a monster on the glass,” according to Morrow.

John Harding also has been a “great leader throughout the tournament,” Morrow said.

The Cubs are now 5-2.