Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

One night after the school’s girls team clinched at least a share of this year’s Little 4 in basketball, the St. Bernard’s boys followed suit.

On Friday night, the Crusaders beat their closest rivals South Fork 63-37 to go to 4-0 in conference and move two wins ahead of the chasing pack with two games remaining.

A victory in either of their final two games — at Hoopa and at Ferndale — would secure the title outright.

South Fork dropped to 2-2 and remains in second place.

Also in the Little 4 on Friday night, the Ferndale Wildcats avenged an earlier defeat at Hoopa by beating the Warriors 57-53 in a closely fought game at Ferndale.

Both the Cats and Warriors are now 1-3 in conference.

On senior night at St. Bernard’s, it was fitting that several of the senior players paved the way to victory.

However, perhaps because of the pregame celebrations it took the SB players a little while to get going.

“On senior night we were able to maintain composure and take care of business,” coach Pat Shanahan said. “Our guys were excited to play and it showed as we turned the ball over a few more times than we’d like.

“The boys made adjustments as the game progressed and with this experience got a little bit better.”

Senior Rowan Cromwell finished with a double-double in the win, scoring 13 points and pulling down 16 rebounds.

Fellow senior Aaiden Burris also had a good game and finished with 24 points and eight rebounds.

“Rowan continued to be a monster on the glass, getting rebound after rebound,” Shanahan said. “And Aaiden had his 3-point groove flowing tonight and sparked us on the offensive end.”

Another senior, Seth Dyer, also played a key role in the win, as did his younger brother, sophomore Liam Dyer.

“Seth and Liam Dyer were difference makers on the court,” Shanahan said of the talented brothers. “They didn’t fill up the stat line but they did so many things incredibly well and contributed tremendously to our win.”

No stats were immediately available for South Fork, but the Cubs’ collective effort impressed the SB coaches.

“South Fork brought the energy tonight and Tommy (Rotbergs) especially was aggressive offensively,” Shanahan added. “What a terrific player and team.”

Another SB senior, Zaach Bowen, also had a good game and finished with six points

Seth Dyer added seven points and Liam Dyer had five rebounds, while teammates Wyatt Simoni and Garrett Shanahan each had six rebounds and four points.

The Crusaders, who improved to 17-2 overall, continue to play well as a team.

“Our team’s unselfishness is one of the areas our coaching staff is most proud of and it showed tonight with nearly everyone on the roster scoring a bucket,” Pat Shanahan said.

The Cubs dropped to 16-6 overall.

At Ferndale, meanwhile, the Wildcats got their first conference win to keep their Dick Niclai tournament hopes alive.

“I felt we played really well together as a team and did a much better job communicating offensively and defensively,” coach Graham Westfall said. “We did a better job taking care of the ball and stayed out of foul trouble.”

The Cats, however, had to battle for the win as the Warriors fought back from a 15-point deficit to make a game of it late.

“Hoopa came to play and it was a battle to the end,” Westfall said. “They are a really well-coached team and I give a lot of credit to head coach Roman (Hutt) and his team for never giving up.”

Prescott Langer once again played a key role for the Cats, who are now 5-9 overall, and finished with a team-high 18 points.

“He was a monster in the paint attacking the basket and locking it down defensively,” Westfall said of the standout sophomore.

Thomas Fergison also continued to impress for the home team and added 14 points, including three big 3-pointers to spark his team at times when they needed it.

“Thomas also did a great job communicating and being the general out on the floor for us,” the coach said.

Isaac Kasso added nine points for the Cats, including making a couple of key late free throws to help keep the Warriors at bay, and he also had a big night on the glass at both ends of the court, while Trent Titus and Tanner Pidgeon “brought great defensive energy and created many fast-break opportunities,” according to the coach.

Titus finished with seven points.

Parker Prior and Braeden Rice both also had big nights on defense, with Prior hitting on four of his five free throw attempts.

Lyle McKinnon scored a team-high 17 points for Hoopa, which dropped to 6-10 on the season, while Malakai McCoy added 13 points.

Once again the Warriors enjoyed balanced offense with four players finishing in double digits in points.

Neil Moon and Brandon Romero each added 10 points.