Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Action from Saturday’s championship game at Arcata High.

By Ray Hamill — It was a disappointing tournament finale for the Fortuna Huskies at the Arcata tournament on Saturday, although head coach Norm Sotomayor is hoping his young team will benefit from that down the road.

One day after beating the host team for the first time in four years in the semifinal, the Huskies were outmatched in the championship game and fell 76-37 to Piner.

The Prospectors are good, but that was only half the story.

“You know, when you don’t make shots early into game, and they make shots, and your heads drop …,” Sotomayor said. “We kind of took ourselves out of the game mentally.

“And hopefully a young team will learn from that.”

Alfonso Medina led the way offensively and finished with 11 points for Fortuna, while Dylan O’Laughlin had eight points and Donald Bickle five.

The industrious Bickle had a big game and was a definite bright spot in an otherwise disappointing afternoon.

“He did a good job attacking the basket,” the head coach said of the junior. “And he continued to play with energy and kept a positive attitude.”

The Huskies, who dropped to 6-3, will try to bounce back when they travel for the Nevada Union tournament on Thursday.

“We need everybody to contribute a little more than they did today,” the head coach said.