File photo – The St. Bernard’s boys have now won six straight games.

The St. Bernard’s boys opened a three-game road trip with a 76-64 win at Eagle Point on Friday afternoon.

The win was the sixth straight for the beat-up Crusaders, who are still nursing some injuries but are building some momentum ahead of their conference opener next week.

Juniors Liam Dyer and Carson Costa each continued to impress for the visitors, who improved to 8-2 after getting off to a fast start.

Dyer and Costa each scored a team-high 19 points, while teammate Garrett Shanahan had a double-double, finishing with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

According to assistant coach Pat Shanahan, it was a game of two halves, with the Crusaders enjoying the better of exchanges early on and the host school stepping up in the second half.

“We are still dealing with some injuries but we’ve got our full roster available for the first time,” the coach said. “The players showed in that first half what kind of team we can be if we continue to build and improve.”

Dyer and Costa led the offense, while transfer Prince Latimer helped key the defense.

“Liam and Carson were absolutely electric on the offensive end,” Pat Shanahan said. “Prince’s defense put the Eagle Point guards off balance and he created opportunities for his teammates on offense as well.”

Latimer finished with 12 points and three assists, while Trenten Hagler added five points, six rebounds and four assists and Tyler Hinrichs chipped in five points and four assists.

“Garrett played strong and consistent, and Trenton and Tyler moved the ball and played under control,” Pat Shanahan said.

Overall, it was another good team performance for a school that is expected to challenge for this year’s Little 4 championship.

“Very proud of our team’s effort tonight, especially on the road,” the coach added. “We’re looking forward to another opportunity to get better against Yreka tomorrow.”

After playing Yreka on Friday, the Crusaders will close out the three-game trip at Redding Christian on Saturday.

In other games on Thursday, the Del Norte boys fell in overtime to University Prep by a score of 68-65 at the Enterprise tournament, while McKinleyville beat West Valley 70-38 and Eureka edged Mt. Shasta 62-61, both also at the Enterprise tournament.

In girls action, the McKinleyville Panthers won the Enterprise tournament, beating Modoc 47-37 in the championship game, while the Fortuna Huskies won their opening game at the Fort Bragg tournament, beating the host team 41-29.

McKinleyville 70, West Valley 38

Neil Moon has found a new home for himself.

After transferring from Hoopa to McKinleyville this season, the junior guard has had an immediate impact with his new team since becoming eligible to play late last month.

On Thursday, Moon scored a team-high 21 points in the Panthers’ opening game at the Enterprise tournament including six 3-pointers.

“Neil was great on the offensive end tonight, playmaking and knocking down shots when the opportunity came to him,” McKinleyville head coach Chris Davis said. “He’s still getting his game rhythm locked in, but we’re lucky to have such a mature and hard-working young man be a leader of this team since his return four games ago.”

Henry Turner IV also impressed in the win and finished with 17 points, while Bode Douglass and Nick Maher each added 11 points.

The win was the third straight for the Panthers, who improved to 10-5.

And the players came ready to play.

“It’s never easy to travel over the 299 and play the same day, but our guys brought good energy and played a great defensive game from tip to finish,” Davis said. 

“We had some mental lapses turning the ball over a bit more than we would like to against that type of zone, but our defense picked us up and our shooters got in a rhythm and knocked down some shots.”

Armstrong set the tone on defense and “had another stellar defensive performance,” according to the coach, while Douglass has become a tenacious force on the boards this season.

The coach added that Ray Turner “continued to be a ball hawk to make things happen.”

The Panthers will continue tournament play against University Prep on Friday at 3 p.m.

Eureka 62, Mt. Shasta 61

A late stop by their defense paved the way to victory as the Loggers won their opener at the Enterprise tournament on Thursday evening.

With just 13 seconds remaining in the game, Elijah Estrada forced a miss from a Mt. Shasta player and Ryder Mitchell pulled down the rebound.

“We’re really, really proud of the guys in the way they continue to fight,” Eureka assistant coach Andrew DeHart said. “They continue to work and do what we expect of them.”

Estrada had a good all-around game in addition to his late clutch defensive play and finished with a double-double.

The Eureka standout scored a team-high 18 points and also had 11 rebounds, while Trenton Gerber added 12 points and four steals.

DeHart described it as a “really hard-fought” win.

Mitchell also had eight points and eight rebounds, while Will Mooney chipped in eight points.

With the win, the Loggers improved to 10-1.

The Eureka boys will continue tournament play on Friday at 4:30 p.m.

GIRLS 

Fortuna 41, Fort Bragg 29

The Huskies played their first game in almost two weeks and overcame a sluggish performance in their opening game at the Vern River Holiday Classic at Fort Bragg.

But the players grew into the game to keep their impressive pre-league run going.

“Despite a sluggish performance, the girls put together some moments of good basketball,” Fortuna head coach Tom Chapman said. “It definitely showed we had not played in almost two weeks and it’s always challenging driving to Fort Bragg and playing on the same day.”

Mariah Bravo and Jorlynn Villalvazo both continued to impress for the Fortuna girls, who improved to 10-3 with a fourth straight win.

Bravo scored a team-high 12 points, while Villalvazo added nine points and Evalynn Little chipped in eight points.

The Huskies will continue tournament play on Friday when they take on Trinity at 8 p.m.

And Chapman is hoping for a better team performance with conference play opening next week.

“We must do a better job finishing at the rim and minimizing turnovers,” he said.