High school basketball is back in full swing after a busy weekend for the local contingent of teams.

The Eureka boys and girls were in action, including a hard-fought 65-63 win for the boys at Santa Rosa and a 46-41 overtime loss for the girls against Miramonte.

The McKinleyville boys were also in action and improved to 2-0 with an 87-52 win at Healdsburg, while a short-handed Fortuna boys team, which was still waiting on its football players to join up, fell 50-45 to Cloverdale and 70-60 at Ukiah.

The Fortuna girls played Kelseyville and won 57-29, while both Hoopa teams played Trinity on Monday, with the boys winning on the road in double-overtime by a score of 75-73 and the girls falling 46-37 at home.

It’s been a good start to the new season for the Eureka boys, who improved to 2-0 at Santa Rosa, but they had to battle.

Xavier De La Rosa scored a team-high 18 points in the win, while teammate Ryder Mitchell also impressed and added 16 points.

The home team caused the Loggers problems with their relentless 3-point shooting, which kept things close all the way to the final buzzer.

“Hats off to Santa Rosa. They had a lot of 3-point opportunities that just kept falling that kept the game close,” Eureka head coach Jimmy Rodgers said. “Every time they hit a 3, we were able to answer with a basket of our own.”

Kyle Giacone added 11 points in the win, while Eddie Gonzalez and Dominic Hardcastle both had strong games on the defensive end to set the tone on that side of the ball.

“Even after the four-hour drive down, the team showed a lot of energy as a group,” Rodgers said. “They played loose and free and everybody was locked in.”

The Loggers also got some big minutes off the bench from Brayden Bermers, who was “very impactful for us,” according to the coach.

“I’m happy with the win in such a close game,” Rodgers added. “It was good for the players to experience that level of play and physicality this early in the season.”

The Loggers will play at the Yreka tournament later this week.

The McKinleyville boys, meanwhile, overcame some adversity in their win at Healdsburg.

Head coach Chris Davis, who described it as a “gritty win,” had just eight players available, many of whom were in deep foul trouble late in the game, including three who fouled out in the fourth quarter.

The Panthers also won at Clear Lake on Friday, 76-48.

“We were able to dictate the flow both game this weekend, which led to positive results,” Davis said. 

Neil Moon led the Panthers in scoring against Healdsburg and finished with 25 points, while Henry Turner and Lucas Jones each also impressed and added 15 points apiece.

“Neil was able to get downhill at will tonight and was able to finish at the cup or make the great extra pass out to our shooters,” Davis said. “James (Fike), Henry and Thomas (Brown) did a nice job limiting offensive boards against a bigger Healdsburg squad.

“Good toughness by all this weekend.”

Next up, the Panthers will host their own tournament, which tips off on Thursday.

The Panthers also won the JV game at Healdsburg, 52-11.

The Fortuna boys, meanwhile, hosted Cloverdale on Friday before traveling to play Ukiah on Saturday.

“(Against) Cloverdale we struggled to put the ball in the net and had a hard time defending,” Fortuna head coach Norm Sotomayor said. “Saturday we rebounded with our best performance of the season despite the loss. We played a very good Ukiah team that was bigger, stronger and deeper than my group of eight.”

Tanner Franklin and Jack Stacy each scored a team-high 15 points against Cloverdale, with the busy Stacy added nine boards and a team-high five assists.

Rawland Bones also had 11 points and nine boards, while Landon Eberhardt had a team-best 10 rebounds and Brandon Cruz had four assists.

Ty Roberts led the Huskies in scoring against Ukiah and finished with 20 points, as well as five rebounds and three steals, while Stacy added 18 points and Bones 15.

“We played our butts off and controlled most of the game but ran out of gas late in the fourth,” said Sotomayor, who will welcome back the Fortuna football players this week after their season ended on Saturday afternoon. “Definitely something to build on. We are very proud of our football team and look forward to working them in this week.”

Next up, the Huskies will play at Hayfork on Tuesday night, before making the short trip to McKinleyville for the Panthers tournament, tipping off against Consumes River on Thursday.

“Chris has done a great job and has a solid field in his tourney,” Sotomayor said of the Mack coach. “The field is stacked with good teams.”

On Monday night, the Hoopa boys traveled to Trinity and won a hard-fought battle that went to double overtime.

Senior Malakai McCoy continued to impress in the win and showcased why he could be one of the most dangerous players in the H-DNL this winter with a team-high 26 points.

Carlos Anzora added 17 points for the 2-1 Warriors, while Charles Sorrell finished with 14 points and Brian Richards chipped in 11.

While its was an impressive win for the new-look Warriors and head coach Inker McCovey, the performance was far from perfect, including 14 missed free throws.

“We didn’t shoot free throws very well,” McCovey said. “To tell you the truth we didn’t shoot very well.

“We still played really good defense. And I think that’s what won the game for us.”

The size of the Trinity players was a good early-season challenge for the fast-paced Hoopa boys.

Next up, the Warriors will travel for the Durham tournament, opening against the host school on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.

The Eureka girls, meanwhile, continued their early-season preparation and suffered their first loss of the season to the Matadors.

The defeat followed a 58-33 win at Vallejo on Friday night, and it was a productive weekend for the 2-1 Loggers.

“(Our) IQ on the court doubled over the weekend,” Eureka head coach Cliff Napoleon said. “They are starting to learn how to play basketball and it’s exciting to see.”

Two players in particular appear to have made a seamless transition from the volleyball court.

Junior Tiarah Maualuga led the Loggers offensively at Miramonte and finished with 18 points, while fellow junior Alena Battle added 12 points.

“Both played well inside,” Napoleon said of the influential duo.

Madelyn Fazio also impressed for the Loggers and a “terror on the defensive end,” according to the coach.

The Eureka girls had their opportunities to win.

“We had a number of open shots that did not fall for us, unexpectedly,” Napoleon said. “Shots we usually hit. Any one of those shots go down and we win.”

Next up, the Loggers will play Corning at the Gridley tournament on Thursday evening at 5:30 p.m.