Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Action from Wednesday’s game at McKinleyville High.

Here we go again.

Just two games into conference play the Big 5 has a familiar look to it, as opening night saw both co-defending champions tip off with impressive victories.

At Arcata High, the Tigers comfortably took care of business in their opener against Del Norte, while at McKinleyville, the host Panthers rallied from an early 11-point deficit to beat Eureka 67-61.

“We faced a good amount of adversity tonight, and we were about 50/50 on how we handled it,” said McKinleyville head coach Chris Davis, whose team trailed for most of the first half. “So we’ve got to clean that up moving forward.”

The Panthers cut the deficit to five just before halftime and they responded well in the third quarter, outscoring the visiting Loggers 21-11 for the period to pull ahead.

“We talked to the kids at halftime about how McKinleyville was going to make a run in the second half,” Eureka assistant coach Andrew DeHart said. “And you’ve got to give (the McKinleyville coaches) a ton of credit. They did a great job of making the adjustments in the second half.”

Cole Armstrong helped key the second-half comeback, scoring 12 of his 14 points after the break.

“Cole Armstrong did a great job in the second half,” DeHart said. “His offense gave us some trouble.”

Davis echoed the sentiment.

“Cole played more aggressive tonight and attacked the paint with a purpose, something I believe he can do more of,” the McKinleyville coach said. “But we have to do a better job of making sure it’s not from a standstill to make it easier on him.

“We got a bit stagnant at times and that’s when we struggled to score as a team.”

Bode Douglass also was instrumental in the win and scored a team-high 18 points for the Panthers, who improved to 1-0 in the Big 5 and 12-6 overall. 

Douglass and teammate Neil Moon, who finished with 13 points, were particularly key late in the game, and they weren’t the only ones.

“Bode and Neil were nails in the fourth quarter and hit some really big shots down the stretch,” Davis said. “Ray Turner Jr. gave us great energy all night and once again seemed to get a deflection every other play to keep Eureka off balance.”

The loss was just the third of the season for the Loggers, who dropped to 0-1 in conference and 11-3 overall.

The Eureka players came ready to play and enjoyed the better of exchanges for much of the opening half.

“We felt like our guys played hard,” DeHart said. 

Trenton Gerber scored a game-high 21 points in the loss, while Elijah Estrada also continued to impress for the visitors and added 13 points.

Defensively, Gerber and Makai Dennon did a good job with tough assignments and “did more than we could have asked for,” according to DeHart.

“Eureka did a really good job of getting us to play at the tempo they wanted,” Davis added. “Coach (Jimmy) Rodgers has those guys bought in and they’re playing with a lot of heart, and it’s easy to see why they’ve had a lot of success thus far.”

The Eureka defense was effective in limiting McKinleyville standout center Nick Maher, who also is enjoying a big season for the Panthers.

“Nick battled all night, but just couldn’t find the consistent touch he typically has,” Davis said of the senior standout. “He made some great moves and got a ton of rebounds.”

Dennon and Michael Jewell each added six points for the Loggers who will have a bye in the Big 5 on Friday before resuming conference play at Del Norte next Wednesday.

“This league is a tough league,” DeHart said. “Every night is going to be a battle.”

The Loggers will play a non-conference game at St. Bernard’s on Saturday night at 7:30.

The Panthers will try to keep their fast start to conference play going when they host Del Norte on Friday night at 7:30.