Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Kai Russell in action for the Warriors at McKinleyville on Thursday night.

By Ray Hamill — An unpredictable Big 5 got a little more unpredictable on Thursday night.

The two conference frontrunners suffered losses, with Big 5 leaders McKinleyville falling in overtime to Del Norte by a score of 41-39 at Mack High and second-placed Arcata falling 44-39 to a resurgent Fortuna team.

All five conference teams now have at least one win and one loss each with four rounds of league play remaining, which throws the race for the championship and the three Dick Niclai tournament spots up for grabs.

“That was a big one for us,” said Del Norte head coach Cris Rice, whose team got their first Big 5 win and improved to 1-4 in conference and 8-12 overall. “Our season’s not over by any means.”

The Panthers, meanwhile, lost for the first time in conference play and dropped to 4-1 in the Big 5 (15-8 overall).

“We took a step back tonight playing through adversity, and we have to continue to look to improve our mental toughness,” McKinleyville head coach Chris Davis said.

The Panthers did got some help from Fortuna and they remain in sole possession of top spot in the standings.

With three games remaining, they still hold their fate in their own hands and if they win out they will secure their third-ever Big 5 championship and their first-ever outright.

The Mack boys led for much of the game.

They held the visitors to just two first-quarter points and led 19-11 at halftime.

However, the Warriors battled back late and outscored their opponents 15-8 in the fourth.

The game featured an exciting conclusion to regulation.

With the Panthers trailing by one and the Warriors in possession of the ball, senior Flynn Creighton came up with a clutch steal and took to the basket for an easy layup to give McKinleyville a one-point lead with just 29 seconds remaining.

A Cole Armstrong free throw with 10 seconds left would stretch the lead to two, but senior Kai Russell came up with a big basket for Del Norte to tie the game at 35-35 with under two seconds to go.

The Warriors would outscore the Panthers 6-4 in the extra period.

“We had some good defense and we got contributions from kids that don’t show up on the stat line,” Rice said.  

Lyon Rigden and Michael Webster both continued to impress for the Warriors and scored 13 points apiece, while Russell added eight points, including the crucial late basket.

Russell also had seven rebounds, while Webster added four steals and three assists.

“Those three boys really stepped up, and I thought our defense was outstanding,” Rice said. “I thought our kids really stepped up.

“We’ve been working so hard and we’re right there. We’re a competitive team.”

Danner Dowd also had five rebounds for the Warriors.

Jordan Brown led the Panthers offensively and finished with a team-high 12 points, while Creighton added seven points and 11 rebounds and Cole Armstrong had seven points and six blocks.

Nick Maher also impressed on the glass for the home team and had 12 rebounds.

Missed free throws caused problems for both teams in what was largely a sloppy offensive game.

“It’s hard to overcome 10-for-27 from the free throw line as we continued to put ourselves in a tough position not being able to convert free throws,” Davis said.

The Warriors will now be hoping the Panthers win their final three games, which would help them in their chase for a Dick Niclai spot..

At Arcata, meanwhile, the Huskies continue their recent surge as they continue to put a disappointing start to conference play behind them.

After dropping their first three Big 5 games, all at home, the Fortuna boys have now won three straight games including two in conference.

Thursday’s win avenged an earlier one-point loss to Arcata in the Big 5.

And the difference this time around was how the Fortuna defense contained the dangerous Arcata duo of Luke Lemke and Dayquan Dunn.

Lemke and Dunn combined for 35 points in the first conference matchup, but were held to just 12 points this time around.

“We stepped it up defensively tonight and limited Lemke to six points and limited Dunn to six points, and we took away what they wanted to do,” Fortuna head coach Norm Sotomayor said. “So I was very proud of our defense.”

In Sotomayor’s words, that strong defense was a “group effort” with Jace Barsanti, Owen Wallen and E’Angelo Payne all combining to keep the very dangerous Lemke in check.

Alfonso Medina continued this outstanding season with a game-high 18 points for the Huskies, while Mason Toroni chipped in five points off the bench, including an inspirational 3-pointer in the third quarter as the Huskies rallied from a six-point second-half deficit.

According to Sotomayor, that 3-pointer shifted the momentum.

“We finished strong. We knocked down some free throws down the stretch that really helped,” the Fortuna coach added.

A Big 5 championship might still be out of reach for the Huskies, who improved to 2-3 in conference and 13-8 overall, but a Dick Niclai berth is still well within their reach.

“We still have some work to do, but I think everything’s up for grabs right now,” Sotomayor said. “Anybody can win on any night (in the Big 5) and I really like where we are right now.”

The Huskies are also getting healthy at an opportune time after battling injuries all season long.

Last week they welcomed back the influential Jake Houseworth, while standout senior Russell Pascascio is also getting healthy again after missing some time, and sophomore guard Kobe Spaulding, who was enjoying a breakout season at the varsity level, is also expected back in the lineup within a couple of weeks.

No final stats were immediately available for the Tigers, who dropped dot 3-2 in the Big 5 and 11-10 overall.