Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Jordan Brown in action for the Panthers on Friday.

The McKinleyville Panthers and Eureka Loggers both improved to 2-0 at the Logger Classic on Friday and will compete for the tournament championship on Saturday.

They won’t, however, play each other in a true championship game.

The Panthers will close out against St. Mary’s at 2:30 p.m., and the host team will close out against St. Bernard’s at 4 p.m.

If both teams finish 3-0, then points differential will decide the championship.

Shasta also plays Brookings-Harbor at 1 p.m. on the final day.

On Friday, the Panthers comfortably took care of business against Brookings-Harbor, winning 70-46, with 11 of their 12 players scoring in a balanced team performance.

Cody Whitmer scored a team-high 14 points in the win, while Justin Wells and Cole Armstrong each scored 10 and Jack Clancy finished with nine points.

With the win, the Panthers improved to 7-2.

JT Nicholls added six points, and Jordan Brown and Bode Douglas each chipped in five points.

Also on Friday night, the Arcata Tigers won their second game at the Red Bluff tournament, defeating Red Bluff 69-43.

Shasta 55, St. Bernard’s 47

The Crusaders had their best defensive game of the young season on Friday, but it wasn’t quite enough in an eight-point loss to Shasta at the Logger Classic.

The ever-dangerous Aaiden Burris continued his blistering scoring pace in the loss and finished with 27 points, including five 3-pointers.

Teammate Seth Dyer also had a good game offensively and added 11 points, while Owen Shanahan chipped in four points.

But it was the team defense that was the highlight of the game.

Submitted photo – Seth Dyer, left, and Aaiden Burris with their trophies after winning the Logger Classic slam dunk and 3-point contests, respectively, on Friday.

“We found our identity defensively,” head coach Issac Gildea said.

Earlier in the day, Burris won the tournament 3-point contest, while Dyer won the slam dunk contest.

The Crusaders, who are now 5-4, will close out tournament play against Eureka on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Ferndale 76, Round Valley 54

The Wildcats will play South Fork for the Gene Cotter Memorial Tournament championship after a 22-point win in one of Friday night’s semifinals in Miranda.

Jack Westfall returned to the Ferndale lineup after missing the tournament opener on Thursday and scored a team-high 22 points, while teammate Kannon Christiansen also continued to impress and added 20 points.

“(Jack) was facilitating well to get our offense going,” head coach Tristan Waters said of Westfall, who also played some outstanding defense.

Christiansen did a good job locking down the key.

“He was doing as great job finishing strong and facilitating out of the post,” Waters said.

Thomas Fergison also continued to impress and chipped in 14 points, while Alsop coming away with some key steals.

With the win, which was their third straight, the Cats improved to 7-3.

South Fork 69, Hoopa 38

The Cubs came storming out of the gates and never looked back on the way to a big win over their Little 4 rivals in the semifinal of their Gene Cotter Memorial Tournament on Friday night.

The host team outscored the Warriors 21-2 in the first quarter to quickly take control.

Tommy Rotbergs was instrumental once again with a  team-high 21 points in the win, while teammate Shevy Bero-Vanmeter added 10 points in what head coach Taylor Morrow described as a “great team effort.”

“We’re just clicking on both ends of the floor,” said Morrow, whose team improved to 9-2. “One of our better passing games. We had a lot of beautiful assists tonight. I really loved it.”

In Thursday’s win over Laytonville, John Harding scored a team-high 17 points to go with five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Rotbergs also had 22 points in that win, while Bero-Vanmeter finished with six points and six assists.

Fortuna 57, Enterprise 52

Alfonso Medina exploded for 26 points to lead the Huskies to a rebound win at the Nevada Union tournament on Friday night.

Medina scored a lot of tough baskets.

“Alfonso Medina was special tonight getting to the rim and finishing tough shots,” head coach Norm Sotomayor said.

Jake Houseworth, meanwhile, had hist best game of the season and finished with 14 points, while Russell Pascascio added 12 points and Dylan O’Loughlin six.

Thanks to some clutch free throws, the Huskies overcame a fourth-quarter technical that resulted in a seven-point swing.

As a team, Fortuna was 11 of 16 from the line in the fourth quarter, including closing out with six straight.

The Huskies will close out tournament play against Yuba City on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.