Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Action from Wednesday’s playoff game between McKinleyville and Eureka.

By Ray Hamill — The North Coast Section boys basketball playoffs must feel like an extension of the regular season for the McKinleyville Panthers.

On Wednesday night, they overcame a slow start to beat Big 5 rival Eureka in the opening round of the North Coast Section Division-4 tournament on the way to a 74-57 win.

And that sets up a fifth matchup of the season against Big 5 rival Arcata in Saturday’s quarterfinals.

Playing without influential senior Jordan Brown, the Mack boys found themselves in an early hole and trailed by nine late in the opening quarter.

However, they would pick up the pace after that and settled into the game with a big second quarter, one in which they outscored the Loggers 23-7 to lead 35-27 at the break.

The Panthers had five 3-pointers in the period, including three by Bode Douglass.

“I’m proud of our team tonight, as many guys had to play a lot more minutes with Jordan out,” head coach Chris Davis said. “It was great to see our guys move the ball around against the zone much better than we have been by finding the gaps, being patient and creating great looks from the outside.”

Senior Justin Wells, who has been on fire lately, picked up much of the slack with Brown sidelined, while Kaden Waugh gave the Panthers a “huge spark off the bench and played competitive, smart basketball all night,” according to Davis.

Wells put in “exceptional work leading our offense” at point guard, the coach added.

Douglass finished with a game-high 20 points and kickstarted the offense in the second quarter, while Flynn Creighton added 19 points and Cole Armstrong had nine points.

Wells also had eight points, Waugh had six points and Nick Maher finished with five points and 14 rebounds.

“(Douglass) kept his head in the game, which is the improvement we’ve been wanting to see,” Davis said. 

The Panthers have now had six different players lead their team in scoring this season, showcasing the depth and balance Davis has at his disposal.

“It goes to prove how unselfish and dangerous of a team we can be when we’re playing together,” the coach said. “Each guy tonight really contributed one way or another, and it was their competitive edge that pushed us over the top throughout the game.”

The injured Brown is expected back for Saturday’s quarterfinal.

Julian Goodman scored a team-high 10 points for the Loggers, while Jahmil Rippy added nine points and both Nelson Botzler-Washington and Will Mooney each chipped in eight points.

It was a game of ruins, with the Loggers getting the better of exchanges in the first and third quarters and the Panthers responding in the second and fourth quarters.

Goodman and Botzler-Washington both played well for the Loggers, who had not played a game in almost two weeks after not qualifying for last week’s Dick Niclai tournament.

Despite the layoff, they came out ready to go.

Botzler-Washington almost had a double-double after pulling down 11 rebounds and he finished an impressive senior campaign with 245 boards.

“Both of those guys had a really good senior season,” Eureka head coach Jimmy Rodgers said of Goodman and Botzler-Washington. “And Will stepped up for us tonight. He controlled the offense for us.”

The Eureka coach also praised Davis and what he has done with the Panthers in his first season in charge.

“Hats off to Chris,” he said. “He kept their energy level sky high and they just kept grinding. He’s done a really, really good job and I wish them well. They’re a good team and Arcata’s going to have their hands full.”

The Loggers closed out the season with a record of 13-14 but made it back to the NCS playoffs after missing out a year ago.

“It’s been kind of an up-and-down season for us, but overall I’m happy with our progress and making it to the postseason,” Rodgers said.

Saturday’s quarterfinal at Arcata will be played as part of a doubleheader with the Arcata and McKinleyville girls teams.

The winner of each game on Saturday will not only advance to next week’s NCS semifinals, but are also guaranteed a place in the upcoming state playoffs.

The Arcata boys comfortably took care of business in their playoff opener against Middletown on Wednesday, winning 70-42.

The Tigers are seeded No. 4 in the Division-4 bracket, while McKinleyville is No. 5 and Eureka came in as the No. 12 seed.