Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — St. Bernard’s had to overcome a slow start to the North Coast Section boys basketball playoffs on Tuesday night, but rallied from an early 14-point deficit to secure an overtime victory.

The SB boys, who are seeded No. 3 in the Division-3 bracket, welcomed No. 14 Miramonte to Eureka and won 73-72.

With the victory, the Crusaders advance to Friday night’s quarterfinals, where they will host No. 6 College Park.

Also in action on Tuesday night, in Division 5 Eureka defeated Hoopa 72-51 to move on to the weekend quarterfinals, where the No. 2 seeded Loggers will host No. 7 Gateway on Friday night.

And rounding out a busy night of playoff action for the H-DNL teams, No. 5 Arcata fell 57-51 to No. 12 Berean Christian, also in Division 5.

Four days after a Dick Niclai tournament final loss, St. Bernard’s started slow against a hot-shooting Miramonte team and trailed 19-9 after the opening quarter.

The visitors continued to pile on the pressure early in the second quarter, going on a 6-2 run to begin the period and stretch the advantage to 14.

But the Little 4 champs would settle into the game.

“What an amazing gritty overtime win for this group,” St. Bernard’s head coach Pat Shanahan said. “In a game where we started out poorly in the first quarter, we demonstrated what we learned earlier in the year and responded with confidence.”

Liam Dyer played a big role in helping his teammates settle into the game and finished with a double-double.

The standout senior scored 32 points and added 13 rebounds and four assists.

Teammate Garrett Shanahan also had a double-double, finishing with 18 points, 12 rebounds and three assists.

“Liam Dyer is a playmaker. He would not be denied and played one of the toughest games we have seen him play, and the team responded and took his lead,” Pat Shanahan said, 

“Garrett had a spring in his step from the excitement of the moment. At the same time he was patient and found advantages where he could.”

Carson Costa also continued to impress for the home team, adding 11 points and seven rebounds.

“Carson was solid on both ends of the court and his fight for some rebounds made a difference,” the SB coach added. 

Tyler Hinrichs played his trademark tough defense for the hosts and had three steals, while Trenten Hagler “ran the offense with good pace and showed strong poise late in the game,” according to his coach.

Luke Brunton came off the bench to make three late crucial free throws.

“He is always ready to play and his work ethic at practice came through tonight,” Pat Shanahan said of Brunton.

With the win, the Crusaders keep their season going as they get set to play College Park on Friday night at 7.

“Happy for this win, especially for the seniors to keep this season rolling,” Pat Shanahan said.

Friday night’s quarterfinal will be part of a doubleheader of playoff action at St. Bernard’s, with the school’s girls team also in action, hosting Liberty in their D-3 quarterfinal at 5:30 p.m.

Eureka 72, Hoopa 51

The Loggers led by 15 at halftime and continued to keep some distance between them and their Little 4 opponents in both teams’ playoff opener at Jay Willard Gymnasium.

Junior Xavier De La Rosa carried his impressive form in the regular season into the playoffs for the home team, finishing with a team-high 22 points and eight rebounds.

The fast start was something the coaches were hoping to see.

“We got off to a hot start, which was something we really wanted to emphasize going into the game,” Eureka assistant coach Andrew DeHart said. “We wanted to really use our tempo and pace and get downhill. We felt that really plays to our strength, and we were happy with the results.”

Ryder Mitchell had a double-double in the win, finishing with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while sophomore Kyle Giacone had a good all-around game as he continues to make his presence felt for the Loggers.

Giacone had 10 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals, while teammate Eddie Gonzalez added 10 points.

Senior Jamarion Ireland also impressed for the home team, coming off the bench and making an impact at both ends of the floor.

“All year Jamarion has been working hard,” DeHart said of Ireland, who had six points. “We’re super proud of him. He played excellent defense.”

No stats were immediately available for the Warriors, who closed out their season 12-12.

With the win, the Loggers improved to 15-12.

Friday night’s game is set for 7 p.m.

Berean Christian 57, Arcata 51

The Tigers were held to just four points for the opening seven minutes of the fourth quarter in their playoff loss to Berean Christian at Arcata High as the visitors closed out strong to secure the win.

Despite the home-court advantage for the Tigers, it was the visitors who set the tone.

“The story of the game was physicality,” Arcata head coach Kellen Maynard said. “Berean Christian brought the physicality. We did not match it tonight.”

Playing in his final high school game, senior standout Luke Lemke scored a team-high 20 points in the loss, while teammate Jack Luh, who was also playing his final high school game, added nine points.

Missed opportunities, however, proved costly for the Tigers.

“We missed way too may wide-open shots, we did not shoot well from the free-throw line again,” Maynard added. “When it came down to crunch time, we did not rebound the ball well enough and give ourselves opportunities to get out and take advantage on the fast break.”

Maynard paid tribute to his seniors.

“Super proud of my guys, definitely going to miss the five seniors,” he said of Lemke, Luh, Elias Gomez, Jonah Hessler and Heron Cromwell. “They gave everything they had to the program this year, I couldn’t have asked anything more from them.”

The Tigers closed out the season 11-17.