Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Action from Thursday’s Eureka game at the AIBT.

The Eureka Loggers overcame a slow start to the game and a 15-point first-half deficit on their way to winning their tournament opener at the Arcata Invitational Boys Tournament on Thursday.

The Loggers beat South Medford 62-53 and improved to 4-0 on the season.

In other AIBT games on Thursday, the McKinleyville Panthers suffered their first loss of the season, falling 59-37 to Montgomery, while Arcata beat Red Bluff 76-36 and Fortuna lost to Piner 64-50 I the late game.

Also in action on Thursday, St. Bernard’s opened the Mt. Shasta tournament with a 66-47 loss to Durham, while Del Norte lost to Rancho Cotate 66-45 at the Cloverdale tournament and dropped to 4-2 on the season.

No details were immediately available for Del Norte. Coaches are encouraged to forward details to Humboldt Sports if they want to be included in the roundup.

The Loggers grew into their game and took control in the second half after pulling within five at halftime.

“We definitely came out a little flat at the beginning of the game. We turned the ball over and were making little mistakes,” Eureka assistant coach Andrew DeHart said. “And then we kind of locked into what our principles are and started playing our style of basketball.”

Several players stood out in the win, including the influential Will Mooney who is enjoying an outstanding start to the new season and hit a couple of big 3-pointers late in the game.

Mooney and impressive sophomore Ryder Mitchell each scored a team-high 15 points.

Trenton Gerber added 11 points and Elijah Estrada chipped in 10 points.

“In the second half we started to play the kind of basketball we wanted,” DeHart said.

Seniors Michael Jewell and Jerome Lyons came off the bench to play key roles for the team and “really played great defense and were taking care of the ball at the offensive end,” according to the coach.

Estrada also had a big contribution.

“Elijah Estrada was finding guys open and making great passes,” DeHart said. “He was making things happen for other people.”

Gerber also impressed at the free throw line, while Mitchell continues to play beyond his years and gives the Loggers a big presence in the paint.

“Ryder Mitchell is one of those players who quietly does his job,” DeHart added.

Thursday’s win sets up a Friday semifinal showdown against Montgomery at 6:30 p.m.

Montgomery 59, McKinleyville 37

The Panthers suffered their first loss of the season in their opening game at the AIBT on Thursday evening.

“We came out a little flat footed and got away from our defensive principles,” head coach Chris Davis said. “Montgomery played disciplined and hard nosed, so credit to them tonight.”

Bode Douglass scored a team-high 17 points in the loss, while teammate Cole Armstrong added eight points.

With the loss, the Panthers dropped to 5-1.

The Mack boys will try to bounce back when they play South Medford on Friday at 3:30 p.m.

South Fork 74, Orland 68

The Cubs won for the fifth time in six games this season, defeating Orland in their opening game at the McMillan tournament in Cloverdale.

Senior Wesley Way continued his outstanding start to the new season with a game-high 29 points for South Fork, including three 3-pointers.

“Wesley Way is a true leader and doing so amazing this year,” South Fork head coach Taylor Morrow said. “He is easily one of the best players I’ve seen so far this season.”

Junior Shawn Schmidt also had a big game for the Cubs as he continues to build momentum after missing some early-season action through injury.

Since his return, however, Schmidt has continued to improve and he finished with a season-best 19 points in Thursday’s win, including three 3s.

“It was really great to see Shawn have a breakout game finally,” Morrow added. “I think he’s found his feet after an early ankle injury.”

The Cubs, who were playing their sixth straight road game, started slow and trailed 26-12 after the opening quarter.

They started to build some momentum in the second quarter and cut the deficit to two going into halftime.

They continued too get stronger as the game wore on and finished with a 30-point fourth quarter to hold Orland at bay.

“We played with a ton of heart and tenacity, especially for our millionth road game in a row,” Morrow said.

The Cubs will continue tournament play against Rancho Cotate on Friday.

“It’s a really great group of kids,” Morrow said. “So fun to coach.”

Hoopa 62, Hayfork 38

The Warriors stretched their winning streak to three straight with a tournament opening win at the Trinity Holiday Classic.

With the win, Hoopa improved to 4-2.

After a slow start that saw them trailing by three points at the end of the first quarter, the Warriors began to settle into the game they would outscore the Timberjacks in each of the final three quarters, including a dominating 17-2 second quarter.

Lyle McKinnon led the Warriors with 17 points while Malakai McCoy added 14 points, including four 3-pointers, and Brandon Romero had nine points and 14 rebounds.

Brian Richards also had a good game and finished with eight points and 10 boards, while Sequoyah Valentine and Joshua Moon each chipped in six points in what was a balanced team performance.

Moon, Romero and Charles Sorrel each dished out four assists.

Durham 66, St. Bernard’s 47

The Crusaders dropped their second straight game, falling to Durham in the opening round of the Mt. Shasta tournament.

Carson Costa scored a team-high 20 points in the loss, while teammate Liam Dyer finished with 15 points.

The game was close for much of the night, but got away from SB in the fourth.

“We battled the entire game,” St. Bernard’s assistant coach Pat Shanahan said. “We played them tough and were within striking distance until the fourth.”

With the loss, the Crusaders dropped to 2-2 on the young season.

“No excuses, it’s not fun to lose but it’s clear we have some areas to work on,” Shanahan added. “It’s early in the season and this is a great group of young men who are committed to getting better.”

St. Bernard’s will try to get back on track when they continue tournament play against Lassen on Friday at 1 p.m.

Arcata 76, Red Bluff 36

If the Tigers can find a way to start their games better they will be a handful for anyone in the Big 5.

And they might when they get their full complement of players back next week after the Arcata football team plays in this weekend’s state championship game.

But for now, they’re still struggling early in games, although they are winning most of them.

“It’s been a consistent theme for us. We’ve started every game extremely slow in the first half,” head coach Kellen Maynard said. “We have to figure out a way to start better. Great teams do that right from the get-go.”

Th good news for the Tigers is that they have found a way to grow into the games and once again they came out much better in the second half on Thursday.

“All we can do is keep working on it and keep trying,” Maynard added. “At the end of the day, we’re still 5-1 so I can’t complain too much about it.”

Luke Moxon scored a team-high 20 points in the win, while Dawson Vallerga added 13 points and Eric Jackson chipped in eight points.

The win sets up a Friday night semifinal against Piner.