Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Lucian Rodriguez in action for the Tigers on Wednesday night.

The Arcata Tigers quickly took control of their North Coast Section boys basketball playoff opener on Wednesday night and never appeared to be in danger of losing.

Facing No. 13 seed Middletown at Arcata High, the No. 4 Tigers opened up a 46-14 lead by halftime and cruised to a 70-42 win.

The win sets up a mouthwatering quarterfinal showdown against Big 5 rival McKinleyville at Arcata High on Saturday, a game that will excite local fans and a game that will be played as part of a playoff doubleheader with the McKinleyville and Arcata girls.

The winner of each game will advance to the section semifinals and will be guaranteed a place in this year’s state playoffs.

On Wednesday, the Arcata boys quickly set the tone and head coach Kellen Maynard was able to go deep to his bench.

“We did what we needed to do right off the bat,” Maynard said. “We took control of the game with our style. We wanted the flow and pace of the game to be what we’ve been doing lately and we did that.”

Finn Warner led a balanced Arcata offense that saw 10 of 12 players score and he finished with a team-high 15 points.

Dawson Vallerga added 13 points, as the Tigers showed no letdown after their big Dick Niclai tournament championship victory on Friday night.

Luke Lemke also was instrumental in the win and added 12 points, while Lennon Gieder finished with 10 points.

“It was just a solid team effort,” Maynard said. “Everybody played, and everybody that went in did good things.”

The showdown with McKinleyville will be the fifth of the season between the two rival schools and a season rubber match.

The Panthers won the first two, including a December tournament game and the first conference meeting, with the Tigers taking the last two, including a second league showdown and last week’s playoff game.

“Regardless of who you’re playing at this stage of the season, they’e going to be good,” Maynard said. “There’s a lot on this game. Every time we’ve played McKinleyville this year there’s been huge implications.

“They’re going to bring their best effort. I know (McKinleyville head coach) Chris (Davis) is going to have them ready to go and I think we’ll be ready to go.”

The Panthers won their playoff opener against Eureka on Wednesday night by a score of 74-57.