Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – McKinleyville head coach Chris Davis and some of his players look on during Wednesday night’s NCS playoff game.

A memorable and historic season may have come to an end for the McKinleyville boys basketball team on Wednesday night, but this is a program that has established itself as one of the most relevant in the H-DNL.

Under the guidance of head coach Chris Davis and his staff, the Panthers did what no other McKinleyville boys team has ever managed before, winning a first-ever outright Big 5 title and a Dick Niclai Tournament championship.

Wednesday wasn’t their night, as they saw a close game against El Cerrito in the Division-2 North Coast Section playoffs get away from them late.

But the Mack players continued to battle and almost closed a 12-point deficit in the final two minutes, pulling within three in the dying seconds, before eventually falling 59-53.

“This was a special group of young men this season,” Davis said. “I am proud of the success and happy for the memories that were made for these guys.

“Obviously the conclusion of any season is hard, but when the dust settles they’re still a great team and have achieved so much.”

Including an impressive 68-53 win over St. Bernard’s in last week’s Dick Niclai Tournament final.

Wednesday’s game was evenly matched for much of the night, with both schools battling back and forth.

The visiting Gauchos opened up a 10-point lead midway through the third quarter, only for the home team to battle back and take a two-point advantage early in the fourth.

That, however, seemed to spark the Gauchos, who then went on a 17-3 run to take control heading into the final two minutes of the game.

But with their backs to the wall, the McKinleyville players answered the call and responded with a strong finish, making seven straight free throws — four by Gaelen Creighton and three by Neil Moon — before a 3-pointer by Creighton pulled the Panthers within three.

“A different team goes down 12 with just a couple of minutes remaining and may think it’s over,” Davis said. “These guys fought tooth and nail to the bitter end and brought it to within three with just over 20 seconds left and put us in a position to win the game.

“That’s grit. That’s toughness. Those are young men I want by my side as teammates and young professionals later on in life.

“It’s what this is all about, and yeah, it hurts now, but what’s gained from this time together this season is so much more.”

Henry Turner IV, one of seven seniors on the team, closed out his high school career with a big night and finished with a team-high 18 points, while the clutch Creighton added 11 points, including seven in the final two minutes, Bode Douglass had nine points, Neil Moon eight and Jeremiah Smith seven.

The seniors, according to the coach, will be missed.

“The group of seniors have been a huge part of this program’s success,” Davis said of the class, which includes Turner, Douglass Moon, Smith, James Fike, Ray Turner and Patrick Wilson. “(They) have been the main cog in the Mack hoops machine of the last three years since I took on this role.

“They will forever be looked back upon as a great group and they’ve earned every bit of it.”

The Panthers closed out the season 19-9.