Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The McKinleyville bench reacts during Friday night’s game.

By Ray Hamill — In the end a share of the spoils was probably a fair result.

One of the most exciting and competitive Big 5 conferences we’ve seen in recent times concluded on Friday night with McKinleyville and Arcata crowned co-champions.

Both schools won their conference finales, with the Tigers winning 83-61 at Del Norte and the Panthers beating Eureka 57-48 at Mack High.

The Big 5 championship is the third straight for Arcata, while it was just the third ever for McKinleyville and the school’s first since 2018.

And for the Panthers, it was the perfect way to celebrate their seven seniors on senior night.

“I’m so happy and proud of our team for coming together when a lot of extra activities are going on for senior night,” first-year Mack head coach Chris Davis said. “It can be hard to stay locked in on nights like this, but our guys stayed strong and showed great mental toughness tonight.”

The seniors — Jordan Brown, JT Nicholls, Flynn Creighton, Talen Townsend, Lucien Ricker, Justin Wells and Carter Eichin — played a pivotal role in the win, as the Panthers held the Loggers at bay for much of the second half after carrying a six-point lead into halftime.

Brown, who is a four-year varsity player and finished second in the Big 5 with the Panthers in each of the past two seasons, scored a team-high 14 points in the win.

Teammate Nick Maher, who enjoyed a great battle in the paint with Eureka big man Nelson Botzler-Washington, added 13 points, while Wells scored 11 and Creighton finished with nine points.

Wells had arguably his best game of the season and was outstanding all night, energizing his teammates and a packed gym with his tenacious defense.

“Justin Wells and Kaden Waugh were firecrackers all night defensively,” said Davis, who added “JT Nicholls, Lucian Ricker and Talen Townsend really played solid and tough minutes tonight.”

The Panthers closed out the regular season with a record of 6-2 in the Big 5 and 17-9 overall, while the Loggers dropped to 3-5 and 13-13.

The loss for the Eureka boys means the conference’s third and final Dick Niclai tournament spot goes to the Fortuna Huskies, who had a bye on Friday.

Up in Crescent City, meanwhile, the Tigers matched that intensity on their way to victory, as they broke open a tight game with a big third quarter.

Just one point separated the two schools early in the third, but the visitors quickly pulled away with six 3-pointers in the period.

“It was just gutsy, gritty,” Arcata head coach Kellen Maynard said of his team’s performance. “We knew it was going to be a battle going in there on senior night.”

Sophomore Luke Lemke continued his outstanding season with a game-high 20 points in the win, while Dawson Vallerga finished with 18 points, including three 3s in the third quarter.

Dayquan Dunn added 17 points, while Kalani Butor chipped in 11 points in what was a balanced offensive team performance.

The showdown was an exciting one, with the Warriors lifting their game for senior night.

“It was just blow for blow,” Maynard said. “We took their best shot, they took our best shot … even though we had a big lead, it didn’t feel comfortable until late.

“The hustle of our guys from start to finish was on point tonight, and it had to be.”

Junior Eric Jackson also played a big role in the win with one of his best performances of the season.

“He had a lot of steals and he was being aggressive, and he kind of sparked us in the second half,” Maynard said.

Before the game, the Warriors honored their six seniors — a group that includes Kyle Dixon, Kai Russell, Nathan Barker, Colin Tromble, Oscar Bowdish and Leon Erler — and several of them stepped up in their final high school games.

Submitted photo – The Panthers celebrate their championship on Friday night.

“I’m proud of my seniors,” head coach Cris Rice said. “We had unexpected kids step up tonight and do great things.”

Dixon had a career-high in points before the end of the third quarter and finished with 15.

“He just came out of nowhere and he stepped up in a big way,” Rice said. 

Likewise with Russell, who finished with a career-high 13 points, while Barker added seven points and did a good job battling the dangerous Dunn in the paint.

Tromble battled through injury but had a big impact in the game, according to his coach, while Bowdish “played this heart out.”

“It was an emotional day,” Rice said. “We played them tough.”

Maynard also praised Del Norte’s performance.

“Cris is doing a great job,” he said. “He got those kids to play hard.”

The Tigers closed out the Big 5 6-2 and are now 14-10 overall, while the Warriors dropped to 1-7 and 8-16.

The shared championship sets up a playoff game between the two champs at McKinleyville on Monday night at 7:30 p.m. to decide which school receives the Big 5’s No. 1 seed for next week’s Niclai tournament and the conference’s automatic berth and home game for the upcoming North Coast Section playoffs.

“It’ll be nice to celebrate tonight,” Davis said. “It’s a great accomplishment. We get right back at it tomorrow, getting ready for another classic matchup against Arcata.”

Submitted photo – The Del Norte seniors

Submitted photo – The Del Norte seniors.

Submitted photo – Kyle Dixon in action for the Warriors on Friday.

Carter Eichin in action for the Panthers on Friday night.