Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

The Crusaders are Little 4 champions for the third straight year after clinching at least a share of this year’s title with another dominating conference win on Friday night.

The St. Bernard’s boys hosted Ferndale and won 88-56, improving to 4-0 in the Little 4 and remaining two wins clear of the chasing pack with two games remaining for each team.

They need one win in their final two games, or for the Hoopa Warriors to lose one of their final two games, to claim the title outright.

Also on Friday night, the Hoopa Warriors hosted South Fork and won 65-34 to take over sole possession of second in the Little 4 standings and keep their slim championship hopes alive.

The Warriors are 2-2 in the Little 4, with both South Fork and Ferndale 1-3.

The Crusaders started fast, opening up an early 22-2 lead, and ended the game as a contest well before halftime.

They would carry a 53-26 advantage into the break, which was a nice response by the players after suffering their first loss since early December at Eureka on Saturday.

“It was an electric start to the game for our guys. They were itching to get back on the court,” said St. Bernard’s head coach Pat Shanahan, who described his team’s start as “beautiful basketball.”

Playing without two of their best players — Garrett Shanahan (sick) and Prince Latimer (injured) — the Crusaders answered the call with several of their teammates stepping up.

And they did it with some outstanding team basketball.

“Our 24 assists is a testament to the ball movement our guys had tonight,” the St. Bernard’s head coach said. “Playing aggressive yet unselfish.”

Carson Costa scored a team-high 27 points in the win, while Liam Dyer added 22 points and Dang Le had one of his best games for the team, finishing with a career-high 15 points.

“Carson was Carson tonight, like he’s been all year, making it look a lot easier than it is going for 27 points,” Pat Shanahan said. “I also thought Dang’s offensive aggressiveness kept us doing the right things on offense in the second half.”

Trenten Hagler also impressed for the home team and added nine points and six assists, while Luke Brunton chipped in seven points and six assists.

Rounding out a good overall team performance, Burke Morrow finished with six points and Tyler Hinrichs had five steals and five rebounds.

With the win, the Crusaders improved to 19-2 overall, while Ferndale dropped to 4-8.

No stats were immediately available for the Wildcats.

Hoopa 65, South Fork 34

The Warriors got back to winning ways with an important win against the Cubs, a victory that not only keeps their championship hopes alive but leaves them well positioned to qualify for the upcoming Dick Niclai tournament.

Coming off back-to-back conferences losses to Ferndale and St. Bernard’s the past two weeks, the Hoopa boys answered the call with their season on the line.

And they did it with a balanced team performance, with several players contributing.

Seniors Malakai McCoy and Carlos Anzora each scored a team-high 12 points, while Joshua Moon added nine points and Jesus Jones and Brian Richards both chipped in eight points.

Richards also led the team on the glass and finished with a team-high 12 rebounds, while impressive freshman Willie Simms had seven boards and McCoy had six.

A pair of sophomores also impressed in the win.

Ma-ninay Ferris added five points and Torin Billings finished with four points.

Six different Hoopa players combined for nine 3-pointers.

With the win, the Warriors improved to 10-10 overall, while South Fork dropped to 11-12.

No stats were immediately available for the Cubs.