File photo – Tommy Rotbergs

The race for the little 4 championship will go down to the final week of action after the South Fork Cubs handed the St. Bernard’s Crusaders their first league loss on Thursday night.

So too will the race for the third and final Dick Niclai tournament berth, after the Hoopa Warriors got their first league win to move into a tie with the Ferndale Wildcats in the league standings.

Playing in Miranda, the defending league champion Cubs won 61-55, while over in Hoopa, the Warriors won 64-45.

The explosive Tommy Rotbergs scored a game-high 26 points to lead the way for the Cubs, who improved to 3-1 in the Little 4 and into a tie with St. Bernard’s atop the standings.

Both teams still have two games remaining next week.

Shevy Bero-Vanmeter added 14 points for South Fork, while Jesus Duron chipped in nine points and Jasper Wilke had four.

The home team had the better of exchanges in the opening half and outscored the Crusaders in each of the first two quarters to lead by eight at halftime.

The visitors, however, battled back with a big third quarter and pulled within two points heading into the final period.

But with their championship hopes on the line, it was the Cubs who dug deep late and held on for a crucial win.

Aaiden Burris scored a team-best 16 points for the Crusaders, including three 3-pointers, while Owen Shanahan continued to impress and added 14 points, including nine in the fourth quarter.

Freshman Liam Dyer, who scored the game winning basket as time expired at Trinity earlier in the week, also had three 3s for nine points, while older brother Seth Dyer chipped in six points and Tyler Dimmick had four.

South Fork improved to 14-4 overall, while St. Bernard’s dropped to 11-9.

Hoopa 64, Ferndale 45

The Warriors kept their playoff hopes alive with a big win over the Wildcats, ending a five-game losing streak.

Brendan Baldy had a double-double in the win, scoring a game-high 22 points and pulling down 21 rebounds.

Lane Campbell added 16 points for the Warriors, who improved to 1-3 in league play and 5-12 overall, while teammate Rodney Clarke finished with 12 points and teammates Brian Gulley and Brandon Romero each chipped in six points.

The Warriors started the stronger of the two teams and led by double digits for much of the game.

Jack Westfall scored a team-high 16 points in the loss, as the Cats dropped to 1-3 in league and 12-10 overall.

Kannon Christiansen added 12 points despite battling foul trouble most of the game, and Thomas Fergison finished with 10 points.

Thursday’s two results set up what should be an exciting final week in league play.