Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The Fortuna Huskies opened the McKinleyville Tip-Off Classic against Cosumnes Oaks on Thursday afternoon.

The Eureka and Del Norte boys both won their opening games at the Yreka tournament on Friday, keeping alive the possibility of an all-local championship game on Saturday.

The Loggers faced Oregon powerhouse Henley and won a back-and-forth showdown 51-45, while Del Norte opened against Red Bluff and won 78-56.

Closer to home, the Fortuna boys tipped off the McKinleyville Tip-Off Classic against Cosumnes Oaks and lost 61-50, while McKinleyville beat Analy 56-40 later in the day, St. Bernard’s defeated San Domenico 55-45 at the Montgomery tournament, Hoopa fell 53-52 in overtime to the host school at the Durham tournament, and Arcata lost to University Prep at the Harlan Carter tournament in Redding by a score of 75-70.

After the road trip to Yreka, it took the Eureka boys a little while to get going, but they began to take control late in the first half and carried that momentum into the third quarter, stretching the lead to as many as 20 at one stage.

However, Henley would respond with a big fourth quarter and pulled within four points in the final two minutes to make for an exciting finish.

But the Loggers would hold their nerve late, with Eddie Gonzalez making two key plays down the stretch.

With 1:20 remaining, the senior scored on a put-back after a missed free throw, and he would add a huge rebound 40 seconds later to give his team possession and help seal the win.

“It was neck and neck in the first half, and we made a couple of defensive adjustments that made a difference,” Eureka assistant coach Andrew DeHart said. “And in the third quarter we really went on a run.”

Xavier De la Rosa Alcantara led the Loggers in scoring with 14 points, while Gonzalez finished with 11 and Owen Hiscox chipped in nine.

Ryder Mitchell added seven points for the Loggers, who improved to 3-0, and also was key in the third-quarter run with his decision making while finding open teammates with the ball.

The Eureka boys will continue tournament play against Orland at 5 p.m. on Friday.

Del Norte 78, Red Bluff 56

The Warriors improved to 2-1 with a win over Red Bluff in their opening game at Yreka.

And similar to Eureka, it took the Del Norte boys a while to find their feet after the road trip.

But once they did, they quickly settled into the game and took control.

“It was a nice win,” said Del Norte head coach Cris Rice, who has a very young roster this season. “We started off very, very slow and then we caught our stride.

“We’re still trying to figure things out. We can look very good in spurts and then have a lot of mental mistakes. This is a young team and they’re hungry, but they’ve got to get better with their mental game.

“But the intensity was up.”

Markus Parras scored a team-high 18 points in the win, while Justin Cushmann added 16 points and a team-best six assists.

Damian Escalera added 15 points, including three 3-pointers, and Sawyer Fry chipped in 14 points, five rebounds and five assists for a good all-around day.

Sophomore Ty Blue also impressed and finished with nine points and a team-high seven rebounds.

“Red Bluff played physical and hard, and our boys shot very well from 3-point range (40 percent),” Rice added. “I was impressed. It was a good team effort.

“We had four players in double digits (in scoring). Everybody kind of contributed.”

The Warriors will continue tournament play on Friday night at 8 p.m.

St. Bernard’s 55, San Domenico 45

Carson Costa scored a team-high 21 points and teammate Liam Dyer added 18 points as the Crusaders got a good early-season test against a quality San Domenico team on the opening day at the Montgomery tournament.

“We were lucky to get that level of competition so early in the season,” St. Bernard’s assistant coach Pat Shanahan said. “Our guys were ready from the tip. We played well as a team, especially on the glass.”

Costa had a good night shooting the ball, while Dyer passed the ball well and created several opportunities for his teammates.

Fresh off a big season on the football fields, senior Tyler Hinrichs also impressed in the season opener, especially on defense where he effectively handled San Domenico’s 6-foot-6 post player, while Garett Shanahan “was outstanding communicating and anchoring our defense,” according to Pat Shanahan.

Prince Latimer also hit the ground running and “handled their relentless on-ball pressure with poise and confidence,” the coach added.

They weren’t the only standouts for the defending NorCal Division-6 champs.

Luke Brunton had a good night rebounding, while Ollie Hart had a good varsity debut and Trenten Hagler provided a spark off the bench.

“We know we need to continue to build each game, win or lose,” Pat Shanahan said. “The kids are playing hard and that is a solid foundation from the first game.”

Durham 53, Hoopa 52, OT

The Warriors played an overtime game for the second time this week, but this time they came up on the losing end.

Three days after a big double-OT road win at Trinity, they opened the Durham tournament against the hosts, who took the victory on a buzzer beater.

But it shouldn’t have come down to that, with the Warriors throwing the ball away twice in the final 40 seconds of the extra period.

“We should have won the game. We outplayed them, I thought,” Hoopa head coach Inker McCovey said. “I was pretty happy with the performance.”

Foul calls didn’t go the Warriors’ way, as they were called 35 times compared to the home team’s 12.

Hoopa also missed on four crucial free throw attempts in the final minute.

There were some bright spots, however, most notably the continued impressive play from Malakai McCoy, who is enjoying an outstanding start to the new season and scored a team-high 22 points in the loss.

Carlos Anzora also impressed and finished with 13 points.

Cosumnes Oaks 61, Fortuna 50

Jack Stacy led the Huskies offensively in their opening game at the McKinleyville tournament and finished with 10 points, while teammate Tanner Franklin added nine points.

Turnovers, however, proved costly for the Fortuna boys.

“We had too many turnovers that led to fast breaks for them,” Fortuna head coach Norm Sotomayor said. “We have to take care of the ball, especially against quick athletic teams.”

Gavin Mayberry, Ty Roberts, Rawland Bones and Kye Hawthorne each added six points for the Huskies.

University Prep 75, Arcata 70

Luke Lemke scored a team-high 24 points and Elias Gomez added 19, as the Arcata boys dropped their opening game at the Harlan Carter tournament.

The Tigers led for much of the night, but they struggled against the U Prep zone defense as the Panthers raised their game down the stretch to pull out the win.

“We figured it out in the fourth, but it was too little too late,” Arcata head coach Kellen Maynard said. “Just ran out of gas.”

Missing three players didn’t help matters for the short-handed Tigers.

Maynard added, however, that he was very happy with the effort, describing it as a much-improved performance.

The Tigers will continue tournament play against Shasta on Friday at 4 p.m.