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The South Fork boys fell just short in their bid for a first North Coast Section championship in boys basketball in 34 years on Saturday night.

The Cubs traveled to Antioch to play No. 1 seed Cornerstone Christian in the Division 6 final and lost 74-57.

The top seeds enjoyed the better of exchanges in the opening half and led by 18 at the interval (40-22) after outscoring the visitors and No. 2 seeds 27-11 in the second quarter.

The Cubs continued to battle in the second half and began to narrow the deficit, outscoring the host school 20-15 in the third, but the gap was too big to overcome and the Cougars held on for their first NCS title since 2019.

The championship game appearance was just the second ever for the South Fork boys and their first since 1990, when they won their only ever NCS championship in boys basketball.

However, it was a memorable and successful campaign for the South Fork boys, who finished 20-9 and had their first 20-win season in over a decade.

“First I want to say what an amazing year,” South Fork head coach Taylor Morrow said. “School history this year. We do not have a second place banner, so that is our first.”

Senior Tommy Rotbergs, who has been outstanding for the Cubs for the past two season, closed out his high school career with a bang and scored a game-high 28 points, including 15 in the third to spark the second-half rally.

“I thought he played maybe one of his best games all season tonight,” Morrow said. “he was really aggressive and scored in a variety of ways.”

He wasn’t the only standout for the Cubs in the loss.

Shevy Bero-Van Meter finished with 12 points, including three 3-pointers, while Trevor Hunt added six points and had a big night on the boards.

“I loved the energy and rebounding Trevor Hunt brought tonight,” the coach added.

Justin Freitas added five points and “provided toughness and energy off the bench, which we needed,” the coach said.

“Cornerstone was well coached and had many weapons,” Morrow added. “We did a good job with the press, but their half-court trap gave us issues.”

The loss ends the season for the Cubs, who will not move on to next week’s state playoffs because of a rule that prevents schools in Division 6 with an enrollment of 200 or more students to move on to the state tournaments.

“It’s always hard to lose at the very end, especially with no chance for any games at state,” Morrow said. “But I am very proud of this team. We remained tough and fighting till the end.

“I know all of them won’t forget this experience. I just hope my guys think fondly of our timer together and have no regrets about their play. They did everything I asked.

“Thank you to everyone who made the trek tonight. It means a lot to me.”

The state playoff brackets will be announced on Sunday, with the Arcata and St. Bernard’s girls and McKinleyville boys all guaranteed to advance.

The Eureka girls, who lost their Division-3 semifinal at Maria Carrillo on Tuesday night, are also hoping to receive an at-large berth for the state tournament.