File photo

The Eureka Loggers ended a three-game losing streak in boys basketball on Monday night.

Eureka welcomed South Fork to Jay Willard Gymnasium for a non-conference showdown and won 75-46.

And they did it with a balanced team performance, getting off to a fast start offensively and keeping the visitors at bay with some strong defense, particularly in the second half.

Impressive sophomore Xavier De La Rosa had another big game for the home team and finished with 15 points, six rebounds and a couple of steals, including scoring 10 points in the second half.

“We got off to a hot start shooting the ball in the first half, which helped us build a lead going into the half,” Eureka assistant coach Andrew DeHart said. “Then our guys played some tenacious defense in the third, which helped us get some transition points and extended that lead.”

Makai Dennon also impressed and finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and four steals for the Loggers, who improved to 15-7 on the season.

Dennon used his speed in transition to score eight points in the second half.

Elijah Estrada added 10 points in the win, Ryder Mitchell had nine points and nine rebounds and Trenton Gerber chipped in nine points.

The points total was the second highest of the season for the Loggers, and their best since a 79-71 win over Piner in mid-December.

“We had contributions from everyone tonight,” DeHart said afterwards.

Senior Humphrey Mbugua also impressed for Eureka with six points and six rebounds and “brought a lot of energy to our team,” according to DeHart.

The Loggers, who are 2-3 in the Big 5, will return to Big 5 action on Thursday when they play a key game at home against Del Norte (1-4 in conference) with Dick Niclai tournament implications on the line.

With Monday’s loss, South Fork dropped to 10-9.

No scoring stats were immediately available for the Cubs, who will host Hoopa in a Little 4 game on Thursday.

File photo – The South Fork Cubs will play Hoopa in a key L4 showdown last this week.