Submitted photo – The Del Norte boys celebrate their tournament championship on Saturday.

The Warriors are getting back to what they do best and that’s the main reason they have now won five straight games.

On Saturday afternoon, the Del Norte boys basketball team defeated Orland 41-34 in the championship game at the Anderson tournament.

After starting the season 1-4, the Warriors are now 6-4 and building momentum ahead of league play, which tips off in the new year.

The difference has been the improved team defense.

After allowing an average of 57.8 points a game in their opening five games, the Del Norte boys have allowed just 33.4 points a game in their five-game winning streak.

“That’s our objective, is to keep the other team under 40 points,” head coach Cris Rice said. “That’s what we pride ourselves on.”

The Warriors opened tournament play on Thursday with a 60-35 win over Central Valley and followed that with a 48-31 win over Anderson on Friday.

In Saturday’s final, Lyon Rigden scored a team-high 11 points while Colin Tromble added nine points and Aidan Rice finished with eight points.

The Warriors did a good job handling the Orland pressure.

“We kind of took them out of what they do,” Cris Rice said. “I thought what stood out was the team performance handling their pressure. They play really strong defensive pressure and one of the keys to victory was being able to handle that pressure.”

Lyon Rigden in action for the Warriors at the Anderson tournament.

Oscar Bowdish

On the offensive side of the ball, senior point guard Oscar Bowdish has done a good job for the Warriors early in the season and has shown some “great senior leadership running the point,” according to his coach, while Michael Webster also impressed at the three-day tournament.

Fresh off a standout season on the football field, where he was named Big 4 co-Defensive MVP, senior Kai Russell has adapted seamlessly to the basketball court and was a force in the paint at the Anderson tournament.

Next up, the Warriors will try to keep their winning streak going when they travel to play at the Holiday Classic in San Diego just after Christmas.

The Del Norte JVs also won the Anderson Tournament this weekend, rallying from an early 17-2 deficit on the way to knocking off a previously undefeated host team in Saturday’s final.

The Del Norte varsity and JV players celebrate their tournament wins on Saturday.