Submitted photos – The Eureka players, coaches, cheerleaders and fans celebrate their historic section championship on Saturday evening.

It was a long time coming and they had to weather a second-half storm to get there, but on Saturday evening the Eureka Loggers secured a first-ever North Coast Section championship in boys basketball.

Playing at Cardinal Newman High School in Santa Rosa, the Loggers faced off against Sonoma Academy in the Division-5 decider and held their nerve late on the way to beating the top seeds in the tournament by a score of 58-52.

The No. 2 seeded Loggers led for much of the game, but a 12-0 run by the No. 1 Coyotes saw them open up a five-point lead late in the third and it appeared as if the momentum had swung.

But with history beckoning and their backs to the wall, the Eureka players would answer the call down the stretch and secured one of the biggest wins in program history with a big fourth quarter.

“It was pretty awesome,” Eureka head coach Jimmy Rodgers said. “I thought it was definitely a team effort. The bottom line is the guys came to play tonight. They knew what was at stake and they fought. They had their assignments and they all dug deep.”

The section title is special achievement and separates this group of players from every Eureka High team that has come before them.

“Definitely feeling a lot of appreciation,” junior Ryder Mitchell said. “Myself and one through 15 of the guys, we all put in a lot of time, and our coaches really put us in a good spot. We just did what we had to do.”

The victory was secured with a 20-4 run in the third and fourth quarters, a run that saw the Loggers open up an 11-point lead midway through the final period.

The Coyotes would chip away at the deficit over the final four minutes, pulling within three with nine seconds remaining, but the gap was too much to overcome and that was as close as they would get.

Sophomore guard Kyle Giacone was instrumental in the victory and helped see his team over the line with a clutch free throw in the dying seconds to open up a two-possession lead.

Giacone would miss the second of his two free throws, but Mitchell got the rebound and would add two late free throws to ice the win.

Submitted photo

He might only be a sophomore, but Giacone played like a savvy veteran and helped set the early tone.

The young standout was one of the most composed players on the court for much of the game, finishing with a team-high 19 points, including 12 in the opening half.

He scored 12 of his team’s first 17 points.

“Kyle was consistent throughout the game,” Rodgers said. “He was able to step up and take on that role and take on that challenge.”

The always dangerous Xavier De La Rosa also played a pivotal role in the win, much as he has been doing all season long, but it took him a while to get going offensively.

The junior, who has been one of the best all-around players in the H-DNL all winter, finished with 17 points, all of them coming in the second half.

After picking up his third foul early in the second half, De La Rosa came alive late in the game, scoring 13 of his team’s points in the decisive 20-4 run.

“I thought Xavier, down the stretch, was huge for us,” Eureka assistant coach Andrew DeHart said. “He really stepped up offensively, and he made a couple of stops and really deserves a ton of credit.”

He wasn’t the only Logger to step up late in the game with the team’s championship ambitions hanging in the balance.

Mitchell finished with nine points and teammate Owen Hiscox added eight points, while making his presence felt in other ways too.

“Owen Hiscox definitely played his best game defensively when we needed it the most,” DeHart said.

This was the first road playoff game for the Loggers this year after three straight home wins for the No. 2 seeds, and while they had to face a large Sonoma Academy contingent of fans, a large group of visiting fans also made their presence felt.

“They could have been anywhere on a Saturday,” DeHart said of the Eureka support. “It really means the world to us as coaches, and I know I speak for the players. The support we had all season was tremendously helpful and it really played a huge role. It means more than people will know.”

The team’s performance also means a lot to the community, as does the breakthrough championship.

“I’m proud of my guys,” Rodgers said. “We came out every single game and played our brand of basketball. You can’t take that away from us.”

Mitchell echoed the sentiment.

“We all had the same goal,” he said. “It’s pretty special to have our name on the banner in the gym.”

With the win, the Loggers improved to 18-12, while the Coyotes dropped to 23-6.

Both teams will advance to the state playoffs.

The Loggers are one of three H-DNL teams that will be included in the NorCal brackets, along with the St. Bernard’s and Ferndale girls teams.

The NorCal seeds and brackets will be announced on Sunday, with the action getting started on Tuesday.

And after four straight playoff wins, the Loggers won’t fear anybody.

“We’re hot right now, and we’re definitely looking forward to next week,” Rodgers said.