File photo – The Eureka Loggers

It took them a while to get going offensively, but the Eureka Loggers closed out strong to win a hard-fought and competitive Big 5 boys basketball game at Fortuna on Tuesday night.

Thanks in part to some solid Fortuna defense, the game remained well in the balance until the final minute, but with some clutch free throws from their seniors down the stretch the visitors would prevail 56-50.

With the win, the Loggers improved to 4-3 in the Big 5 and 17-8 overall.

The Huskies remain winless in conference play, but despite their record they have been in most of their games, with four of their losses coming by eight or fewer points, including both matchups against Eureka by just nine points combined.

“It was a defensive showcase by Fortuna,” Eureka assistant coach Andrew DeHart said. “Early in the first half we had a really hard time getting anything going against that Fortuna defense. You got to give a ton of credit to Fortuna.”

After being held to just 18 first-half points, the Loggers would begin to heat up on offense in the second half, with Xavier De La Rosa and Elijah Estrada leading the charge.

De La Rosa, who has established himself as one of Eureka’s most important players in conference play, finished with a double-double, scoring 17 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.

The impressive sophomore also had three steals and two assists.

Estrada also impressed and finished with 13 points and four rebounds, while Will Mooney added 12 points and Ryder Mitchell chipped in eight points.

It was the seniors, however, who stepped up late to help seal the win.

With two minutes remaining and the game tied, Trenton Gerber came up with a big steal and would make both free throws after being fouled.

With 30 seconds remaining and the Loggers leading by three, Estrada stole the ball and also would make two free throws after being fouled to put the visitors up by five.

File photo

“Xavier did a great job helping us score in that second half, but it was the seniors that made the plays towards the end that really helped us lock it up,” DeHart said.

Injuries and sickness did not help matters for the Huskies on senior night.

Jack Stacy exited the game early in the second half after re-aggravating an injury he has been battling, while Jake Houseworth was forced to the bench in the fourth with an injury and his presence in the paint and rebounding was missed down the stretch.

But head coach Norm Sotomayor could not fault his players’ collective effort.

“I thought we played one of our most complete games and battled the entire way,” he said. “We had to deal with some adversity.

“Half of my team should be home sick in bed, but they were not going to miss their senior night.”

Jace Barsanti scored a game-high 18 points in the loss, as the Huskies dropped to 0-7 in the Big 5 and 8-17 overall, while Houseworth added 11 points and Owen Wallen chipped in eight.

The senior class includes Wallen, Barsanti, Houseworth, Bryson Gillam, Lo Payne, Hunter Reback, Blayne Barrote and Chandler Crenshaw.

“All of my seniors stepped up tonight and contributed,” Sotomayor said. “I’m disappointed for my seniors that we lost, but very encouraged and satisfied with the way we played.”