Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – St. Bernard’s Seth Dyer drives to the hoop during Friday night’s game.

By Ray Hamill — Advantage St. Bernard’s.

There’s still a long way to go in this year’s Little 4 in boys basketball, but the Crusaders took a big step towards a possible league title with a pivotal 68-56 win over defending league champion South Fork at St. Bernard’s on Friday night.

They had to battle for it, overcoming a sluggish opening half shooting the ball and rallying from an eight-point deficit late in the second quarter.

“We needed that one,” said head coach Issac Gildea, whose team had lost six of the previous nine games. “It was a fun win. We battled back in the second half and our players adjusted to what they were doing offensively.”

Owen Shanahan and Jack Stark were particularly instrumental in the comeback, while Aaiden Buris was as effective as ever.

“Those two guys really stepped it up tonight,” Gildea said of Shanahan and Stark. “Owen was phenomenal in all aspects.”

Shanahan and Burris each scored a team-high 17 points, while teammate Seth Dyer finished with 14 points.

The visitors began to take control of the game in the second quarter and led by five at the break, but the Crusaders enjoyed a big third quarter, thanks in large part to Shanahan and Dyer, and they led by two going into the fourth.

Wyatt Simoni added eight points in the win, while Stark and Liam Dyer each chipped in five points.

Carl Nunes also had a big game, particularly one the defensive side of the ball, while a loud home crowd in a packed gymnasium played its part.

“We needed that lift from the crowd,” Gildea said. “What an amazing crowd tonight. They were our sixth man. They helped.”

Tommy Rotbergs led an energetic South Fork team and scored a game-high 23 points, while Shevy Bero-Vanmeter finished with 11 points and John Harding and Jesus Duron each had 10 points.

“I thought we played really good defense,” South Fork head coach Taylor Morrow said. “SB is a team that normally shoots the lights out from the 3 and we only let them score two in the whole game.

“Mental mistakes late in the game I think is what cost us. Looking forward to the rematch.”

The loss was just the third of the season for the Cubs who dropped to 0-1 in the Little 4 and 10-3 overall.

The Crusaders are now 1-0 and 8-6.