Submitted photo

The dynasty is alive and well.

On Friday night, the St. Bernard’s boys capped another unbeaten run through the Little 4 in boys basketball with a 71-43 win at Hoopa.

The Crusaders, who had already clinched the conference championship, close out 6-0 in the Little 4 for the third straight year, stretching their conference winning streak to 18 straight games, dating back to Feb. 2, 2023.

The win lifted the high-flying Crusaders to 22-2 on the season and they have just once in their last 21 games.

But they had to battle early in Friday’s game against a Hoopa team that has lifted the level of its game in recent weeks.

It was Senior Night for the Warriors, who were fired up for the game and challenged the visitors early in the game.

“It seemed Hoopa on their Senior Night was on fire,” St. Bernard’s head coach Pat Shanahan. “We regrouped in the second quarter and after halftime started to play our brand of ball more and more.”

It’s been an up-and-down season for the Warriors, who started the campaign well, winning six of their first 10 games, but struggled early in the new year, dropping two of their first three conference games.

But head coach Inker McCovey has his players playing better down the stretch, and they came into Friday’s game having won two straight L4 games and having already clinched second in conference.

“We were right with them in the first half,” McCovey said of Friday’s game. “All our players played pretty good in the first half.

“(In the second half) we kind of fell apart on defense. They’re a good transition team, but when we ran our offense I thought we did pretty well.”

The Warriors closed out conference play 3-3 and are now 11-11 overall.

File photo – The Hoopa Warriors

As the L4’s No. 2 seed for next week’s Dick Niclai tournament, they will get a first-round home game, facing off against Ferndale on Monday night.

As conference champs, the Crusaders will receive a top seed and a first-round bye for the tournament, opening in the semifinal round on Tuesday at College of the Redwoods against either Arcata, Del Norte or Eureka.

Carson Costa has been one of the most consistent players for the best team in the H-DNL this year and that continued to be the case on Friday.

The senior guard scored a game-high 20 points, and also had seven rebounds and five assists.

One of this week’s Humboldt Sports Athletes of the Week, Liam Dyer, also impressed in the win.

Six days after he exploded for 52 points in a non-conference win at Arcata, Dyer had 20 points and five rebounds at Hoopa.

File photo – Carson Costa

His teammate Garrett Shanahan came within one rebound of a double-double, finishing with 12 points and nine boards, while Tyler Hinrichs added five rebounds and five assists.

Trenton Hagler chipped in six points, nine rebounds and five assists.

“The hustle and effort our squad showed in the second half especially to try to slow Hoopa’s hot shooting was commendable,” Pat Shanahan said. “I am proud of our attention to detail as the game progressed.”

Malakai McCoy led the Warriors with 12 points, while Ma-ninay Ferris added 11 points and Carlos Anzora chipped in seven points.

The Warriors had to play without standout freshman Willie Simms, who had reached his 26-game limit, having also played for the Hoopa JVs this season.

That didn’t help their cause.

File photo

Simms, however, will be eligible to take the court again in next week’s Niclai tournament and in the North Coast Section playoffs.

“He can shoot, he can rebound and he defends well,” McCovey said of the young standout. “We missed him tonight.”

The Hoopa coach also praised the performance of the Crusaders.

“Good job St. Bernard’s,” he said. “They’re a well-coached team, but I think we’re getting better.”

The Hoopa seniors include McCoy, Anzora, Dylan Moon, Brian Richards and Charles Sorrell.

Monday night’s game tips off at 7 p.,m.