Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Rowan Cromwell in action for the Crusaders at CR on Thursday night.

By Ray Hamill — If it’s true what they say about good defenses winning championships, the Crusaders could be on course to win a first Dick Niclai championship since 2002.

On Thursday night, the Crusaders held on late to beat McKinleyville 48-39 in the tournament semifinal at College of the Redwoods to set up a championship showdown against Arcata on Friday night.

And it was their team defense that paved the way to victory, as they held the Panthers to single digits in scoring in two of the four quarters and their third lowest points total of the season.

It was also the third time in their last five games that the Crusaders have held their opponents to under 40 points.

“We played together. I think that was the big word for us,” St. Bernard’s head coach Issac Gildea said. “And our willingness to win. It didn’t matter who scored. Our team defense, everybody was connected tonight.”

That defense held the Panthers without a basket from play for the opening 10-and-a-half minutes of the game.

The McKinleyville players, to their credit, battled back from an early 10-point deficit to make a game of it in front of a packed house at CR and the biggest crowd at any of the tournament games so far this week.

The Panthers would outscore the Crusaders in both the second and third quarters to close within two or three points on several occasions in the second half, but every time they did St. Bernard’s found a way to keep them at bay.

“Our leaders — all seven guys in the rotation tonight — were really good,” Gildea said. “Whoever was in the game, they all played together.”

Rowan Cromwell scored a team-high 15 points in the win, which was the Crusaders’ 15th straight, while Seth Dyer added 13 points and Aaiden Burris finished with 12 points.

One player who did have success against that stellar St. Bernard’s defense was senior Justin Wells, who scored a game-high 22 points and almost singlehandedly kept his team in contention with four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter alone.

“I want to say McKinleyville played a great game,” Gildea said. “Wells shot the ball really well tonight. They’re well coached and I wish them the best of luck on Sunday (at the North Coast Section playoff seedings meeting).”

Flynn Creighton added 11 points for the Panthers, who dropped to 18-11.

“We did a good job for most of the game pressuring the ball and making them uncomfortable,” McKinleyville head coach Chris Davis said. “It just wasn’t quite consistent enough, and each time they were able to play without a hand in their face they executed well.

“Our guys did a great job battling back, anchored by our defense, after not scoring a field goal until a few minutes into the second quarter.

“We kept our heads in the game and continued to battle back multiple times. Unfortunately against good teams they’re going to capitalize on your mistakes which they did multiple times in key moments.”

After the Panthers pulled within three points again early in the fourth quarter, the Crusaders went on an 8-0 run to stretch the lead out to 11, and they were able to hold on in the final minutes despite the brilliance of Wells, who has raised the level of his game in recent weeks.

“Offensively Justin was on another level tonight and it was fun to get him in different spots to score,” Davis said. “He’s been playing extremely well down the stretch on both sides of the court. We’re excited to see him continue his great play through sections.”

Some clutch free throws in the final three minutes by Cromwell, Dyer and Burris helped seal the win, as the Crusaders were 8 for 8 from the line in that spell.

Liam Dyer added six points in the win, as the Crusaders improved to 21-2 in games played this season. 

Friday’s championship showdown will be part of a doubleheader with the St. Bernard’s girls team.

The finals will be played at Lumberjack Arena between the Big 5 and Little 4 champions, with the SB and Eureka girls tipping off at 6 and the St. Bernard’s and Arcata boys playing at 7:30 p.m.