Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Action from Friday night’s game at Eureka High.

It was a busy night for the H-DNL teams in the North Coast Section basketball playoffs on Friday, with four teams in action and another getting some big news about its weekend game.

Two of the four teams in action won their games to advance to next week’s semifinal round, while the other two went down battling.

At St. Bernard’s, the Crusaders comfortably took care of business in their Division-3 matchup against No. 8 San Domenico, winning 58-40.

The victory sets up a home semifinal against No. 5 Dougherty Valley on Tuesday night.

Also in Division-3 action, the Fortuna girls won their second road game in four days, traveling to Middletown and coming away with a 60-47 win.

The No. 6 Huskies, who had a big second half at both ends of the floor, will now play at No. 2 Saint Mary’s in Tuesday’s semifinal.

It was the program’s first second-round NCS win in at least 20 years since MaxPreps began keeping records and it keeps alive the possibility of an all-local Division-3 championship game next weekend.

Closer to home, the Eureka girls faced off against California in Division-1 action and lost 39-30 to end their season.

Up in Crescent City, meanwhile, the Del Norte boys rallied from a 12-point deficit in their Division-5 game with Sonoma Valley but ended up falling 71-69 in double-overtime.

The Ferndale girls, who are seeded No. 1 in Division 6, also got some big news on Friday night, when it was announced that their Saturday game with Victory Christian Academy was canceled.

The Wildcats receive a forfeit win and will automatically advance to next week’s semifinals.

The Eureka girls came up short in the second half, as the visiting Grizzlies grew into the game after a sluggish start to the night.

The Loggers led 22-17 at halftime but too many turnovers down the stretch saw the advantage slip away late.

“We did well in the first half handling their pressure, making the correct reads and staying composed,” Eureka head coach Cliff Napoleon said. “In the second half, costly turnovers ended up killing us.”

Tiara Maualuga scored a team-high seven points for Eureka, while teammate Baylie Battle added six points.

Despite the loss, it was still a good season for the Eureka girls, who had a 20-win campaign and closed out with just six losses.

“Proud of what we accomplished this year,” Napoleon said. “Some people never gave us much hope as far as competing for a title when losing co-MVPs of the league (Kaitlin Giacone and Isis Poteet) a year ago.”

The senior class of Battle, Mallorie Beauchamp and Samara Gaither all played a big role in the team’s success this winter and picked up the slack in the wake of the 2024 MVPs.

“This year’s seniors help continue the program that past teams have started,” Napoleon added.  “We would not be where we are at without the year’s senior class. They will be sorely missed.”

Napoleon added that he believes the Grizzlies have what it takes to win the Division-1 championship.

“I’ve seen the teams that are left and they are the most complete team,” he said. “I told the girls we were right there with one of the top teams in the NCS. They battled tonight.”

So too did the Del Norte boys, who lost a heartbreaker to end their season after recovering from a disappointing league campaign with a good playoff run this week.

“It was kind of a tale of three seasons,” Del Norte head coach Cris Rice said. “We had a very good preseason, a tough league and a good playoff run. It’s truly sad we can’t play next week, but that’s how sports go.”

Senior Michael Webster epitomized his team’s fighting spirit on Friday night, finishing with a team-high 27 points in his final high school game.

Kanyon Starkey had one of his best games of the season and added 14 points, while Ryan O’Laughlin also impressed and chipped in nine points.

The Warriors overcame a slow start and rallied to force the extra period.

The Del Norte boys had opportunities to pull out a win at the end of regulation and at the end of the first overtime period, but came up just short.

They also had a chance to force a third OT, when Webster came up just short on a contested layup as time expired.

“We had a chance to win the game and it just didn’t work out,” Rice said. “The kids played their hearts out.”

Sonoma is a very good shooting team and it showed as the Dragons made nine 3-pointers in the first half alone.

But the Warriors adjusted after the break and used their physicality to make a game of it.

Sawyer Fry added seven points in the loss, while Lyon Rigden, who was carrying an injury and playing “with half a leg,” according to the coach, added six points.

“He just battled,” Rice said of Rigden.

Aidan Rice added four points and Mario Ledezma had two.

The loss marks the end of the road for a senior class of Aidan Rice, Rigden, O’Laughlin, Webster and Ledezma, each of whom left their mark on the program.

“For the seniors, it’s a hard pill to swallow,” Cris Rice said. “But it was one of the better games I’ve seen at Del Norte High School in some time. The resiliency they showed to battle back (was impressive).”