File photo – The Del Norte boys are 2-2 in the Big 5 and in a there-way tie for second in the standings.

The Del Norte Warriors kept their Dick Niclai tournament hopes well on track with a 67-44 win over Fortuna in Crescent City on Tuesday night.

The win ended a three-game losing streak for the Warriors, including two straight in the Big 5, and leaves them in a three-way tie with Arcata and Eureka for second in the standings, after the Tigers beat the Loggers 65-41, also on Tuesday night.

The Warriors, Tigers and Loggers are all 2-2 in the Big 5 at the halfway stage of conference play, two wins behind first-placed McKinleyville (4-0), which had a bye on Tuesday.

The Warriors knew they had to take care of business against a Fortuna team that has yet to win in conference play and the players did not disappoint.

Four Warriors finished in double-digits in scoring, but that wasn’t the most impressive aspect of the performance.

“It was about our best defensive game of the year,” Del Norte head coach Cris Rice said. “We did good.”

The Warriors showcased their hustle on that side of the ball with 14 steals, including four by Ty Blue and three by Kanyon Starkey.

They also had six blocks, including four by Blue, who is quickly establishing himself as one of the better players in the Big 5 in just his sophomore season.

The Warriors overcame a slow start — they trailed 13-9 after the opening quarter — with a big second quarter, outscoring the visitors 22-3 for the period.

And there was no way back for the Huskies after that.

“We had good energy all around. We shared the ball,” Rice said. “They were better teammates tonight.”

Markus Parras impressed for the home team and scored a team-high 20 points to go with a team-high seven assists, while Blue added 19 points and eight rebounds to round out a very good all-around performance.

Justin Cushmann and Damian Escalera each had 11 points, with Cushmann also pulling down eight rebounds and Escalera five.

Influential senior Sawyer Fry missed mush of the game after suffering an injury in the first half, but he is expected back for Thursday’s big game at Arcata. which could see the winner take over sole possession of second in the Big 5 standings, if the league-leading Panthers continue to take care of business at Eureka on the same night.

With Tuesday’s win, the Warriors improved to 15-7 overall, while Fortuna dropped to 7-15.

No stats from Tuesday’s game were immediately available for Fortuna.

The top three teams in the final Big 5 standings advance to the H-DNL postseason Dick Niclai tournament.

File photo