File photo – The Fortuna boys got their first conference win at Del Norte on Thursday.

After three straight home losses to open conference play, the Fortuna Huskies traveled to Crescent City on Thursday night and came away with a much-needed road victory.

Playing without two starters, the Fortuna boys withstood a late Del Norte rally and held on to win 42-40 in a competitive Big 5 matchup.

Also in the Big 5 on Thursday, the Arcata Tigers got back to wining ways two days after a disappointing loss at McKinleyville.

The Tigers pulled away late to beat the Loggers at Eureka 44-33 and improved to 2-1 in conference play.

The loss was the first in the Big 5 for the Loggers, who are also now 2-1.

In the Little 4, the St. Bernard’s boys took over sole possession of top spot in the standings with their second win in two conference games, winning 72-30 at Hoopa.

The loss was the first in the Little 4 for the Warriors, who dropped to 1-1.

Also in the Little 4, South Fork bounced back from a conference opening loss to St. Bernard’s with a 65-35 win over the Wildcats in Ferndale.

The Cubs are now 1-1, while the Cats dropped to 0-2.

At Del Norte, the Huskies began the game without starters Kobe Spaulding, who is out indefinitely with an injury, and standout senior Russell Pascascio, who also missed the game through injury.

In their absence, however, the Huskies prevailed and improved to 1-3 at the halfway stage of their conference schedule and 11-8 overall.

In a back-and-forth matchup, the Huskies held a slender one-point lead after the opening quarter and then went on an 8-0 run as they began to take control.

But the Warriors responded to close the gap to five at halftime and would outscore the visitors 27-24 in the second half.

The resilient Huskies, however, would hold on down the stretch for the win, which keeps them well in contention for a Dick Niclai tournament berth.

Alfonso Medina scored a team-high 11 points in the win, while Kallen Barrote added nine points and Jake Houseworth finished with six points in his second game back form injury.

The Huskies, however, struggled at the free throw line and made just 4 of 12 attempts and also did not have a single 3-pointer all game.

The Warriors, meanwhile, remain winless in conference play and dropped to 0-3 in the Big 5 and 7-11 overall.

Kai Russell scored a game-high 12 points for Del Norte, while Michael Webster added nine points despite playing with a rolled ankle and Lyon Rigden finished with eight points, including seven in the opening half, as well as six rebounds.

Del Norte head coach Cris Rice described it as a “tough loss,” while adding “we played well in spurts.”

Rice was happy with his team’s defense, which held the visitors to just 42 points.

“The kids are playing so hard, we just can’t get a clean game on offense,” the coach said. “We just can’t finish.”

Aidan Rice had four assists and five rebounds in the loss, while the Warriors were 10 of 16 from the free throw line.

Next up, Fortuna will return home to host Kelseyville in a key non-league matchup on Saturday against another Division-4 school that could have playoff implications.

The Warriors will play try to bounce back when they play at Arcata on Tuesday.