Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

The Eureka Loggers may have missed out on qualifying for this year’s Dick Niclai Tournament, but it hasn’t slowed them any in the North Coast Section playoffs.

The Eureka boys continued to roll on Friday night, comfortably getting the better of Gateway out of San Francisco in their Division-5 quarterfinal by a score of 67-50.

The Loggers, who also defeated Hoopa 72-51 in their playoff opener earlier in the week, are now guaranteed at least two more postseason games.

The No. 2 seeds in the bracket will play their section semifinal at home against No. 3 Redwood Christian on Tuesday night, and if they win that game they will play for a section championship against either No. 1 Sonoma Academy or No. 4 Drew next weekend.

If they lose the semifinal, they will play in the bracket’s third-place game next weekend, with the winner of that showdown advancing to the NorCal playoffs along with the two finalists.

On Friday, the players came ready to play.

“As coaches we were really impressed with our players’ level of execution,” Eureka assistant coach Andrew DeHart said. “Our guys did an exceptional job of executing the game plan and sticking to the game plan.”

The always dangerous Xavier De La Rosa finished with a team-high 21 points, including 17 in the opening half to help give his team an eight-point lead at the break.

Owen Hiscox also had a big night in the win, as he looks to extend his high school career.

The senior sharpshooter scored 16 points, including five 3-pointers.

Eddie Gonzalez in action for the Loggers on Friday night.

Another senior, Eddie Gonzalez, also impressed in the win and helped inspire his teammates with his performance.

Gonzalez scored 15 points and pulled down four rebounds.

“I think we leaned a lot on our senior leaders,” DeHart said. “Eddie Gonzalez and Owen Hiscox were huge pieces for us tonight on both ends.”

Junior Ryder Mitchell also impressed and finished with a double-double, scoring 11 points and pulling down 11 rebounds.

With the win, the Loggers improved to 16-12.

Redwood Christian beat Kennedy 64-55 in quarterfinal action on Friday night, improving to 21-9.

Tuesday’s semifinal tips off at 7 p.m.

Eureka head coach Jimmy Rodgers and some of his players look on during Friday’s game against Gateway.