Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Jordan Brown in action for the Panthers at Eureka on Tuesday night.

By Ray Hamill — At the halfway stage of conference play in boys basketball, one team has emerged as favorites in the Big 5.

On Tuesday night, the McKinleyville Panthers won at Eureka, beating the Loggers 49-41 to close out the first half of conference play with a record of 4-0.

The Panthers have now beaten all four of their Big 5 rivals in conference play, including two (Eureka and Fortuna) they had previously lost to during the hectic tournament schedule in December, and they sit alone atop the standings.

And the frightening part for their Big 5 opponents is they arguably have not peaked yet.

“This was one of those games where shots aren’t falling, free throws aren’t being made and defense has to keep you in the game,” said McKinleyville head coach Chris Davis, who has done an outstanding job in his first year in charge.

“I was very happy with our start in the first quarter, which was much improved over the last few weeks, but we have to keep that consistent intensity throughout the game if we want to make some noise down the road.”

The Panthers came out strong and enjoyed the better of exchanges in the opening half to open up a 10-point lead at the interval.

Try as they may, there was no way back for the home team after that, as the Mack defense held them to just 27 points through the first three quarters.

Jordan Brown, Carter Eichin and Bode Douglass set the early tone on defense and continued to frustrate their hosts throughout the night.

“Defensively I thought we were very good tonight, especially in the first half,” Davis said.

Nick Maher, who has raised the level of his play since conference play got under way, finished with a double-double in the win, scoring 12 points and adding 10 rebounds.

Cole Armstrong also had a good night offensively and finished with 10 points, while Douglass capped a good all-around performance with nine points.

The loss was the second straight in conference play for the Loggers as they dropped to 2-2 in the Big 5 and 12-8 overall.

“Mack is a good team and it boiled down to them making fewer mistakes,” Eureka assistant coach Andrew DeHart said. “We have some things to take a look at, especially offensively, but our guys are hungry as ever to get back to it to prepare for St. Bernard’s on Saturday.

“Every game from here on out will be a test and our guys understand that.”

Makai Dennon and Jahmil Rippy each scored a team-high seven points for the Loggers, while Elijah Estrada had six points and Julian Goodman and Will Mooney each finished with five points.

It didn’t help matters for the Loggers when influential junior forward Michael Jewell went down injured in the third quarter and did not return.

“We’ll wait to see what the diagnosis is, but he’ll be missed if he can’t go,” said DeHart, who described Jewell as a “great kid and teammate.”

The Panthers, who improved to 15-7 overall, will look to keep rolling when they host Del Norte on Thursday night, while the Loggers will have a bye in conference on Thursday before playing at St. Bernard’s in a non-league game on Saturday.

And Davis is expecting another tough battle.

“Del Norte on Thursday is going to come out hard for 32 minutes,” said Davis, who added “the teams that win in this league are the ones that play with the most intensity and consistency for 32 minutes.”

The Panthers have now won six of their last seven games, with their only loss in that spell coming against Little 4 leaders St. Bernard’s.

Also on Tuesday night, the Arcata Tigers beat Del Norte 62-42 to keep the pressure on the conference leaders.