Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The Eureka boys opened the Logger Classic with a dominating win over Laytonville on Thursday night.

The Cubs put a disappointing couple of days at last week’s Cloverdale tournament behind them as they got back to winning ways on the opening day of their own Gene Cotter Memorial tournament on Thursday.

South Fork defeated Willits 73-30.

After a slow start that saw them lead by one point after the first quarter, the Cubs quickly took control of the game, outscoring the Wolverines 30-5 in the second.

And they can thank some of their younger players who played big roles in the victory.

Sophomore Martin Naverrete had a breakout game and finished with a game-high 22 points in the win, while ever-consistent senior Wesley Way added 16 points.

Both of the team’s freshmen — Sheyne Casey and Mason Bell — each also impressed and got in the scorebook.

Trevor Hunt added a double-double, finishing with 10 points and 10-plus rebounds.

It was the team’s first home game of the season.

“It was nice for us to bounce back after a tough weekend,” head coach Taylor Morrow said. “We had some really great moments tonight where five guys touched the ball and we got a big advantage shot.

“It was definitely new to play at home, but it feels great not to travel.”

With injuries continuing to take their toll early in the season, other players are being called on to take up some of the slack.

“We had an injury in practice yesterday and we need some other guys to step up and fill some shoes and we did that tonight,” the coach added,.

The Cubs, who improved to 6-3, will continue tournament play on Saturday when they play Round Valley at 11 a.m. and Quincy at 6:30 p.m.

McKinleyville 54, Kennedy 33

The Panthers tipped off the Albany tournament with a comfortable 21-point win over Kennedy out of Richmond on Thursday.

The Mack boys enjoyed the better of exchanges early in the game and jumped out to a 21-4 lead.

Henry Turner IV scored a team-high 14 points in the win, while Nick Maher added 12 points and Gaelen Creighton chipped in seven.

“We got to work on some different looks they gave us all game to keep us on our toes, which hopefully prepared us better for the high-pressure half-court trap and man-to-man defense we’ll see tomorrow versus Terra Linda,” McKinleyville head coach Chris Davis said. 

Turner had a big game, and he wasn’t the only one.

“Henry was once again a zone killer for us, and Jeremiah Smith joined the cause too,” Davis added. “It wasn’t our best shooting night by far, but we were able to get the shots we wanted.”

Davis added that the team needs to continue to improve.

“We’ve got to find that next gear tomorrow night if we want to compete,” he said.

With the win, the Panthers improved to 7-2.

Arcata 40, Weed 34

The Arcata Tigers welcomed back their football players, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing in their opening game at an always challenging Red Bluff tournament.

In a low scoring matchup, Luke Moxon scored a team-high eight points for the Tigers, who improved to 7-2.

And that low scoring wasn’t all down to good defense.

“It was bad basketball,” Arcata head coach Kellen Maynard said. “We were very lucky to escape with the win. We looked like we had concrete legs.”

The Tigers, however, took control of the game in the fourth quarter and closed out strong.

Jack Luh, who “continues to play really, really good basketball,” according to his coach, added six points in the win, as did Levi Sims and Luke Lemke.

Lemke, who is the reigning Big 5 MVP, returned to the lineup along with Dayquan Dunn after they helped lead the Tigers to a state championship in football last weekend, and “provided a huge boost,” the coach said, “and gave us some good energy.”

Defensively, the Tigers stepped up to limit Weed’s best two players, the coach added.

The Tigers will continue tournament play against a good Crater team on Friday evening.

Crater defeated Pleasant Valley in tournament play on Thursday.

Eureka 70, Laytonville 19

The Eureka boys tipped off their own Logger Classic with a comfortable win over the Warriors.

Sophomore Xavier De La Rosa had a breakout game in the win and scored a game-high 18 points as Eureka improved to 6-1.

De La Rosa also had eight rebounds, five assists and four steals.

“I was really, really proud of Xavier,” Eureka assistant coach Andrew DeHart said of the sophomore standout, who can play all five positions effectively. “For a young kid he’s shown so much promise.”

Eddie Gonzalez also impressed and finished with 11 points, as did Owen Hiscox, who finished with eight points and dished out five assists.

“Owen shot the ball really well tonight,” DeHart said of the junior, who also played very well on defense.”

The Loggers quickly took control of the game, leading 22-4 after the opening quarter and 33-8 at halftime, but the players remained focused throughout despite the lopsided score.

“We really wanted to make sure we were playing our brand of basketball regardless of what’s happening in the game,” DeHart said. “And we did that.”

The Loggers will continue tournament play against Coquille on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Del Norte 69, Central Valley 21

The Warriors stretched their winning streak to four straight with a dominating win over the Falcons in their opening game at the Anderson Invitational.

Michael Webster continued to shine and scored a game-high 17 points, four steals and five rebounds in the win, as the Del Norte boys improved to 8-2.

Sawyer Fry and Lyon Rigden each added eight points for Del Norte, while Aidan Rice finished with seven points and Justin Cushman and Ryan O’Laughlin each chipped in six points.

Rice also had a team-best five steals, while Fry added four.

Redding Christian 64, Fortuna 39

The Huskies continued to struggle in their opening game at the Anderson Invitational tournament, dropping their opening game to the Lions.

The loss was the seventh straight for the Fortuna boys, who dropped to 3-7 on the season.

The Huskies will continue tournament play on Friday.

Hoopa 74, West Campus 70, OT

The hottest team in the H-DNL continued to roll on Thursday.

The Hoopa Warriors stretched their winning streak to six straight games with a four-point win over West Campus out of Sacramento.

But they had to battle in a game that neither team could take control of, with the two schools tied at halftime and just one point separating them heading into the fourth quarter.

The Hoopa boys outscored their opponents 10-6 in overtime and will continue tournament play on Friday.

Senior Lyle McKinnon had a huge night offensively in the win and finished with a team-high 26 points, while impressive sophomore Malakai McCoy added 21 points.

Brandon Romero also scored nine points in the win.

Hoopa is now 7-2.

St. Bernard’s 60, Upper Lake 45

The St. Bernard’s boys won their opening game at the kelseyville tournament and improved to 5-2.

We’ll have more on the Crusaders’ win on Friday.