By Ray Hamill — Friday night gave us two exciting championship games and a reminder why H-DNL basketball is special.

Playing in front of a packed house at Lumberjack Arena, the Arcata boys and Eureka girls were crowned Dick Niclai tournament champions, capping an exciting week of tournament play.

The Arcata boys defeated St. Bernard’s 65-60 in their final, while earlier in the evening the Eureka girls edged St. Bernard’s 45-42 in their final.

Both championship games went down to the wire, with little between the two teams in each.

But it was the atmosphere inside Lumberjack Arena that arguably stole the show.

“What a great atmosphere tonight,” Arcata head coach Kellen Maynard said. “St. Bernard’s brought it. The crowd was great.

“The girls set the tone for our game. Their game was phenomenal and you’ve got to give credit to (all three) fan bases.

“What a fun atmosphere and what a great way to end the regular season. They were two of the best championship games I can remember.”

All four teams involved will now turn their attention toward the upcoming North Coast Section playoffs, with the brackets and seeds to be announced on Sunday.

Check out the boys late-game highlights and postgame celebrations above.

For video highlights of the girls championship game, see A golden era continues for the Eureka Loggers …