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The Del Norte boys turned in their most complete team performance of the season in their most important game of the season.

With their Dick Niclai tournament hopes on the line, the Warriors overcame a slow start on the way to beating the Eureka Loggers 78-70 in Crescent City in Big 5 boys basketball on Friday night.

The win lifted Del Norte to 3-4 in the Big 5 and 16-9 overall and keeps them well positioned to secure the conference’s third and final Niclai tournament berth.

The Loggers, meanwhile, dropped to 2-4 in the Big 5 (13-11 overall) with a game in hand, and it sets up a fascinating final week in conference play.

“I’m just proud of the kids,” Del Norte head coach Cris Rice said. “They fed off each other. I thought it was our best overall performance.”

Eureka was coming off an impressive week that included wins over St. Bernard’s and Shasta.

“That was a tough one for us,” Eureka assistant coach Andrew DeHart said. “But you’ve got to give Del Norte so much credit. They just shot the ball phenomenally tonight.”

They did for most of the game.

The Warriors started slow and trailed 12-2 early in the game, but would respond in style and led by seven at the break.

They continued to shoot the ball well in the second half and stretched the advantage to 13 going into the fourth on a Damian Escalera 3-pointer at the end of the third.

They then led by as many as 15 early in the fourth, but the Loggers refused to give up and continued to battle, cutting into the deficit and pushing the Warriors all the way.

“Our guys continued to persevere and battle,” DeHart said. “And we’re really impressed with the way we continue to fight.

“When you’re playing a team that puts up 78 points, you have to keep pace, and I thought we did that, we just didn’t get enough stops down the stretch.”

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The Warriors shot 61 percent from the field and had five players finish in double-digits in scoring with a balanced team performance.

Sophomore Ty Blue had a career night in the win, scoring a game-high 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting, to go with eight rebounds.

Escalera added 18 points, while Justin Cushmann finished with 12 points.

Markus Parras also impressed and finished with 11 points and five assists, while Sawyer Fry chipped in 10 points.

It was Senior Night for the team and the team’s lone senior, Kanyon Starkey, contributed with some impressive defense to go with four assists.

“They responded,” Rice said of his players. “It was such a team win. Every kid contributed.”

Xavier De la Rosa led the visitors with a team-high 21 points, while Ryder Mitchell had a double-double, finishing with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Owen Hiscox also impressed for Eureka and had 13 points, while Kyle Giacone chipped in 12 points.

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The Eureka players were up for the challenge.

“We started well and came out with a lot of energy,” DeHart said. “And then Del Norte went a run of their own.”

The game was played in front of a packed house and a great atmosphere.

“It was an electric night,” Rice added. “We all felt a little pressure. I just can’t say enough about these guys.”

The Warriors will close out conference play at Fortuna next Friday and a win would guarantee them at least a tie for third.

“That was our most important game of the year,” Rice said. “And now Fortuna is our most important game of the year.”

The Loggers can still place third and qualify for the Niclai tournament.

They host Fortuna on Wednesday, before closing out conference play at Arcata next Friday.