The McKinleyville boys will play Ukiah on Friday night in their annual Tip-Off Classic tournament, with a place in Saturday’s championship game up for grabs.

Both schools won their tournament openers on Thursday.

The tournament hosts got the better of Analy 56-40 and the Wildcats beat West Valley 72-47.

With their win, the Panthers improved to 3-0 on the young season.

And they won with a much-improved defensive performance.

“We talk a lot on our team about how our defense needs to be the identity of our team,” McKinleyville head coach Chris Davis said. “When shots don’t fall, like tonight we need to be able to rely on our pressure we want to apply with solid rotations to be our foundation.

“We definitely had some lapses on rotations, but our improvement since last weekend was noticeable.”

Neil Moon led the Panthers in scoring and finished with 14 points, while Gaelen Creighton added 12 points and Henry Turner chipped in 11 points.

The inspirational Ray Turner also had a big impact.

The senior guard scored eight points, but his contributions went well beyond that.

“Ray was, once again, so pivotal in setting our defensive tone,” Davis said. “His energy is contagious and it’s resonating throughout our lineup.”

Creighton, Thomas Brown, Patrick Wilson and James Fike each also impressed in the win.

“(They) really stepped up tonight against the big lineup, clearing rebounds and getting us in transition,” then coach added.

Ukiah is 3-1.

Tip off on Friday night is set for 7 p.m.