File photo – Cody Whitmer

Cody Whitmer hit a game-winning 3-pointer as time expired to lead the McKinleyville Panthers to a thrilling 42-41 win over their biggest rivals on Saturday afternoon.

An early-season matchup against the Tigers in the third-place game at the Arcata tournament did not disappoint, with the game going down to the wire and suggesting this year’s Big 5 should be very competitive.

Brandon Bento-Jackson hit a game-tying 3-pointer for the Tigers before teammate Luke Moxon gave them the lead on a tip-in with a little over a minute remaining in the game.

Both defenses then stepped up and held tight, before Whitmer’s last-gasp shot secured a dramatic victory for the visitors.

“The boys deserve all the credit,” McKinleyville assistant coach Tyler Pelascini said. “They executed what was drawn up.”

The Panthers struggled offensively in their first two tournament games but fared better early in Saturday’s showdown, with seven different players scoring in the first half alone.

“We had a lot of diversity on our offense,” Pelascini said. “We had a lot of guys getting involved.”

It was a game of two halves, however, with the Panthers getting the tempo early and carrying a 13-point lead into the break, before the home team grew into the game and outscored the visitors 27-15 in the second half.

“It was a good game, back and forth,” Arcata head coach Kellen Maynard said. “We just needed to make more stops.”

After they had taken a late two-point lead, the Tigers had back-to-back turnovers on their next two possessions, which allowed the visitors have the final say.

Jack Clancy scored a team-high 11 points for the Panthers, who have gone 2-1 in each of their last two tournaments and are now 5-2 overall.

Payton Harbin had a big game for the Panthers in his first season with the team and finished with eight points in the win, while Whitmer, Jordan Brown and Cameron Hooven each chipped in five points.

“We’ve just got to get tougher and play the whole game, all 32 minutes,” Pelascini said.

Moxon scored a game-high 19 points for Arcata, which is now 4-3, while Bento-Jackson finished with 10 points and Kalani Butor had eight points.

The Tigers also had to play for much of the game without influential senior Josiah Gomez, who was sidelined through injury in the second half.

A bright spot for the home team was the play of Jared Pereira, who stepped up in Gomez’s absence and had one of his best games, according to Maynard.

Next up, the Panthers will play at the Eureka tournament, which tips off on Thursday, while the Tigers will travel for the Red Bluff tournament, also on Thursday.