File photo – The McKinleyville Panthers

It took a few days longer than expected, but the Arcata Tigers got their Big 5 campaign off to a winning start on Monday with a 52-47 win at Fortuna.

The game was pushed back from Wednesday because of the stormy weather here on the North Coast, but the defending league champs showed no ill-effects from a 10-day break on the way to victory.

They did trail by a few points for much of the game, but rallied with a big fourth quarter to pull out the victory and drop the Huskies to 0-2 in league play.

“It was a back-and-forth game,” Arcata head coach Kellen Maynard said. “We didn’t play one of our better games of the season, but it’s league, it’s a grind.”

The Tigers stepped up in the final two minutes, with a late 3-pointer from senior Brandon Bento-Jackson giving them a late lead, and they were able to hold on after that with some clutch free-throwing shooting.

“That was essentially the game-winning shot,” Maynard said.

Bento-Jackson helped set the tone for his younger teammates and scored a game-high 14 points in the win, as the Tigers improved to 1-0 in the Big 5 and 8-6 overall, while teammate Luke Moxon finished with 13 points.

Alfonso Medina and Russell Pascascio each scored a team-high 12 points for Fortuna, which dropped to 10-7 on the season after a second straight league loss to a Big 5 contender.

Sophomore Dawson Vallerga also had a big game for Arcata, nailing three big 3-pointers to keep his team in touch and finishing with 10 points, while Kalani Butor finished with seven points, including two big late free throws, and Dayquan Dunn had six.

Don Bickle added eight points for the home team, while Jake Houseworth had seven points and Coldy Collins and Dylan O’Loughlin four apiece.

Next up, on Wednesday, Arcata hosts McKinleyville in a key Big 5 showdown and Fortuna plays at Eureka. 

McKinleyville 66, St. Bernard’s 56

The Panthers continued to roll with a 10-point non-league win over the Crusaders at McKinleyville on Monday.

The win lifts the Mack boys to 15-3 on the season

Cody Whitmer had the hot hand shooting and finished with a game-high 19 points, including five second-half 3-pointers as the home team began to take control.

Payton Harbin also continued to be influential and finished with 12 points in the win, while teammates Jack Clancy and Jordan Brown each had 10 points.

The victory was the sixth straight for the Panthers and will give them some momentum heading into a key top-of-the-table Big 5 clash at Arcata on Wednesday night.

Justin Wells and Flynn Creighton each also had four points in Monday’s win.

Aaiden Burris continued to lead the way for the Crusaders, who saw a three-game winning streak snapped as they fell to 8-7 on the season.

Burris scored a team-high 17, while teammate Seth Dyer finished with 15 points and Wyatt Simoni had 10.

“We need to be more disciplined and we can’t turn the ball over if we want to win,” head coach Issac Gildea said. “Our effort is there.”

Oswen Shanahan added eight points for St. Bernard’s and Jack Stark finished with six points.

St. Bernard’s will try to get back on track at Hoopa on Friday night.

File photos – Joh Harding (top) and Shevy Bero-Vanmeter

Eureka 46, South Fork 37

The Loggers ended a four-game skid with a nine-point non-league win in a make-up game at Miranda.

With the victory, the Loggers improved to 7-8 on the season.

John Harding had a big game in for South Fork on both sides of the ball, as he continues his impressive season.

“John Harding did everything for us, defense, scoring, assisting,” South Fork head coach Taylor Morrow said of the senior, who finished with eight points.

Shevy Bero-Vanmater also had a good game on both sides of the ball and finished with a team-high 10 points, while Jesus Duron was “a presence in the paint,” according to Morrow, in what was a physical game, and finished with nine points.

The loss was the second straight for the Cubs, who dropped to 10-4 on the season.

They will try to get back one track when they host Ferndale in a key Little 4 game on Friday night.

Next up for the Loggers is a Big 5 home game against Fortuna on Wednesday night.