By Ray Hamill — The excitement of the Dick Niclai Tournament and what it means to fans and players was on full display on Tuesday night.

The first of two semifinals at College of the Redwoods pitted Little 4 champs St. Bernard’s against the No. 3 seed from the Big 5, Del Norte, and for much of the night it appeared as if the Crusaders were in control.

They led by as many as 15 points in the opening half and still held a double-digit lead with four minutes remaining in the game.

That’s when things got interesting.

A resilient Del Norte team that was playing its fourth road game in five days, all of them essentially tournament elimination games, rallied to tie things up in the dying seconds, and it appeared as if we were headed to overtime.

But St. Bernard’s senior Tyler Hinrichs had other ideas.

With the 14 seconds remaining in the game, the Crusaders moved the ball up court, only for a jumper by Liam Dyer to bounce off the rim and into the hands of Hinrichs, who threw up a shot that scored the winning basket right as time expired, lifting the L4 champs to a 69-67 win.

Known more for his defense, Hinrichs’ buzzer-beater sends the Crusaders into Friday’s final, where they will try to end a 24-year wait for a second-ever Niclai championship.

“What a fun night of hoops,” SB head coach Pat Shanahan said. “We are happy to come out of the game with a win.”

Hinrichs not only hit the game-winner, but he also took a key charge down the stretch to give his team possession in the final minute when it appeared as if the momentum was slipping away.

“What an amazing ending to a great game,” Shanahan added.

For Del Norte, it was a disappointing conclusion to an exciting few days.

Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

On Friday night, they traveled to Fortuna needing a win just to keep their tournament qualification hopes alive, and they followed that with a tournament play-in victory at Eureka on Saturday night and a first-round win at Arcata on Monday.

But on Tuesday, they finally ran out of gas, barely.

“We’re proud of our boys and how they competed,” Del Norte head coach Cris Rice said. “Just super proud of the guys, everybody.

“I think there was a time in that game early where we could have made excuses and we didn’t. We fought back.”

Junior Sawyer Fry has been instrumental in the late-season surge and that continued to be the case on Tuesday.

The Warriors standout finished the night with a game-high 23 points, including seven 3s, as well as seven rebounds and five steals.

But it was his two plays in the final 30 seconds that really had an impact.

With his team trailing by three, Fry came up with a steal on a St. Bernard’s inbound pass, and moments later he hit a game-tying 3-pointer.

Check out Sawyer Fry’s last-minute steal and 3-pointer below …

“That was huge,” Rice said.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, however, they were unable to hold on for overtime, with Hinrichs clinching the win just a few seconds later.

Dyer scored a co-team-high 21 points for the Crusaders and also had five rebounds and five assists. 

Garrett Shanahan also scored 21 points in the win and added 11 rebounds for a double-double, while also coming up with three steals.

Carson Costa was equally effective and finished with 20 points, six boards and three assists, while Hinrichs finished with just two points, but boy were they important.

The senior standout also had nine assists and seven rebounds, while teammate Trenten Hagler chipped in three points and five rebounds.

“I am so proud of our guys,” Pat Shanahan said. “We did not falter to any extent when faced with adversity. It’s another testament to this team’s maturity and confidence in themselves and each other.”

Several players stepped up in the win, which lifted the Crusaders to 23-2 on the season.

“Liam was a playmaker tonight,” the St. Bernard’s head coach said of Dyer, who had a breakaway dunk that helped energize his teammates. “His calm demeanor was also a pillar of support for us when things got dicey.

“Carson was effective inside and out again tonight … his will to win is what really set him apart tonight.”

Garrett Shanahan scored 10 points in the fourth quarter.

“Garrett took what the defense was giving him and adjusted well to the game,” Pat Shanahan said. “His motor is something else out there game in and game out. He came through big for us in the fourth quarter.”

Hagler also impressed and has done a good job at point guard since standout senior Prince Latimer was sidelined with a hand injury a few weeks ago.

“Trenten ran our offense effectively and defended incredibly well,” Pat Shanahan added.

For Del Norte, sophomore Ty Blue had another good game and he has quickly established himself as a force at the varsity level.

Blue finished with a double-double, scoring 22 points and pulling down 10 rebounds, while Damian Escalera had 13 points and four assists, and Justin Cushman had eight points.

Kanyon Starkey also had six rebounds for Del Norte.

“I thought our kids battled,” Rice added. “They had no excuses on their minds. They were ready to go.”

The game was played in front of a large crowd at CR, with a great atmosphere, something we’ve grown accustomed to seeing at Niclai games.

“What an electric environment,” Rice said. “Thank you to CR , and I’ve got to give St. Bernard’s a lot of credit.”

The Crusaders will now play in a Dick Niclai Tournament championship game for the second time in three years, matching up against McKinleyville in Friday’s final at Lumberjack Arena.

The Warriors will now turn their attention toward next week’s North Coast Section playoffs, with the seeds and brackets set to be announced on Sunday.

“It’s disappointing we can’t play Friday, but we’re looking forward to next week,” Rice said. “We’ve proven we belong.”

The last five days have certainly shown that.