Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Aaiden Burris in action for the Crusaders at the Logger Classic on Thursday night.

St. Bernard’s and McKinleyville both tipped off the Logger Classic with victories on Thursday.

The Crusaders defeated St. Mary’s 67-64, while the Panthers got the better of Shasta 58-50, with several other H-DNL teams also in action on a busy Thursday.

In Miranda, the Ferndale Wildcats opened the Geno Cotter Memorial tournament with a 63-25 win over a young Northcoast Prep team, while tourney host South Fork beat Laytonville 68-29 and Hoopa beat Round Valley 73-59.

At the Anderson tournament, the Del Norte boys beat Willows 42-19, while Fortuna lost 77-63 to Division-I Oak Ridge at the Nevada Union tournament.

The Arcata Tigers also were in action and won their opening game at the Red Bluff tournament, defeating a good University Prep team by a score of 52-41.

The shorthanded Tigers were missing several players due to sickness and injury and head coach Kellen Maynard had to call up three JV players to fill out his roster for the tournament.

The Tigers also had to overcome a slow start, but took control of the game with a big second half.

“We were a little sluggish right out of the gate,” Maynard said. “But we came out in the third and fourth quarters and clamped down on defense. The guys just made plays when they needed to.”

Senior Brandon Bento-Jackson led the way on both sides of the ball and played one of his best games of the season.

“He made the right pass over and over,” Maynard said.

Luke Moxon also continued to impress and scored a team-high 19 points in the win, while Kalani Buttor had one of his best games yet and finished with 14 points.

Luke Lemke added eight points, as the Tigers improved to 5-3.

The Arcata boys continue tournament play against Red Bluff on Friday at 5:30 p.m.

St. Bernard’s Owen Shanahan

McKinleyville 58, Shasta 50

The Panthers continued to roll in their Logger Classic opener on Thursday, outscoring Shasta 21-12 in the fourth quarter on the way to an eight-point victory.

With the win, the Panthers improved to 6-2 on the season.

Just five days after nailing a game-winning 3-point buzzer-beater against Arcata, Cody Whitmer had another big performance against the Wolves, finishing with six 3s on the way to a team-high 22 points.

Jack Clancy and Cameron Hooven each added nine points in the win, while Payton Harbin finished with six points and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.

There was little to separate the two teams for much of the game, with the Panthers holding a two-point advantage at halftime and the Wolves taking a one-point lead into the fourth quarter.

The Panthers, however, closed out the stronger of the two to keep their impressive start to the season going.

Jordan Brown added five points in the win, while Nick Maher finished with four points.

The Panthers continue tournament play against Brookings-Harbor on Friday at 6 p.m.

The Wolves dropped to 3-6 with the loss.

Tyler Dimmick

Oak Ridge 77, Fortuna 63

The Huskies had a challenging tournament opener at the Nevada Union tournament, falling to Oak Ridge, a Division-I team from the Sac-Joaquin Section.

Russell Pascascio led Fortuna offensively with 17 points, while Alfonso Medina finished with 12 points and Cody Collins chipped in 10.

The loss was the second straight for the Huskies, who dropped to 6-4 on the season.

Kallen Barrote added six points in the loss, while Jake Houseworth finished with four points.

The Fortuna boys will continue tournament play on Friday.

Ferndale 63, Northcoast Prep 25

Kannon Christiansen scored a game-high 17 points as the Cats opened the Geno Cotter Memorial Tournament with a comfortable win over a young NPA team.

Christiansen played “smart basketball,” according to head coach Tristan Waters, as he continues to be a force in the paint for the Ferndale boys.

Thomas Fergison also looked sharp offensively and added 14 points in the win, as the Wildcats improved to 6-3.

Ferndale sophomore Henry Westfall, meanwhile, did a good job taking the ball to the rim on his way to 12 points, while teammate Trent Titus chipped in eight points.

Waters started his bench in the second half, giving his back-ups some valuable playing time.

The Cats continue tournament play against Round Valley on Friday at 5:30 p.m.

Wyatt Simoni

Del Norte 42, Willows 19

The Warriors opened the Anderson tournament with a big win over Willows on Thursday night, holding the Honkers to just 19 points.

Del Norte’s Ethan Thomas scored a game-high 11 points in limited minutes as head coach Cris Rice went deep to his bench early.

Merrick Crabb added eight points in the win, while Brody Mattz and Westyn Fitch “both really stepped up” and each chipped in six points.

With the win, the Warriors improved to 5-6.

They will continue tournament play on Friday.

The Honkers dropped to 3-6.

South Fork 68, Laytonville 29

The outstanding John Harding continued to play a key role for the Cubs, who opened their own tournament with a comprehensive win over Laytonville.

“John Harding had a phenomenal game tonight, both offensively and defensively, being really active on both ends,” head coach Taylor Morrow said. 

With the win, South Fork improved to 8-2.

No scoring statistics were immediately available.

The Cubs will continue tournament play against Hoopa on Friday night at 8:30 p.m., with the winner advancing to the tournament championship.

Hoopa 73, Round Valley 59

Freshman Neil Moon scored 16 points to lead the Warriors on Thursday night.

Rodney Clarke added 15 points and Brian Gulley finished with 11 as the Hoopa boys improved to 3-6.

Lyle McKinnon also had 10 points in the win, as 11 different Hoopa players scored.

The Warriors will play South Fork in the tournament semifinals on Friday.