Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The Hoopa Warriors at the Logger Classic on Thursday.

The Eureka and St. Bernard’s boys will play for a place in the championship game of the Logger Classic on Friday night after each took care of business in their tourney openers on Thursday.

The Loggers got the better of Brookings 69-59, while the Crusaders beat Sutter 55-45.

The Eureka boys shot the ball well from 3-point range, particularly Jackson GIacone and Trevor Bell.

Giacone led a balanced team performance with 15 points, all on 3-pointers, while Bell added 14 points, including four 3s.

It was, however, far from perfect for the home team, which continues to slip in and out of games.

“We’re still trying to put a whole game together,” head coach Robbie Thompson said.
“Still trying to put it together, but we’ll get there.”

Despite the comfortable win, and a 20-point lead at halftime, it could have been a lot better for the Loggers, who had 18 turnovers and 14 missed layups and were only 4-of-10 from the free-throw line.

“Overall, I was pleased, but if we’re going to go somewhere we need to be better,” Thompson said.

Cahliel Garner also had a big game for the Loggers, finishing with 13 points, while Jaeden Thayer added 10 points and “made some big plays,” according to his head coach.

Grant Barrera added eight points and Miles Meynell six.

St. Bernard’s 55, Sutter 45

The Crusaders pulled out an inspired win over Sutter to open play at the Logger Classic and set up a semifinal showdown against the host school on Friday.

Lane Thrap scored a team-high 22 points in the win, as St. Bernard’s improved to 2-1, but it was teammate Will Omey who proved to be the catalyst.

“This game was won by pure heart by all of the players,” head coach Steve Thrap said. “Will Omey really dug deep and put us on his shoulders and picked everybody else up.”

Omey finished with seven points, while Owen Shanahan and Ayden Hamanaka each also played a big role in the win and finished with six points apiece.

The head coach described it as a “great team effort.”

Del Norte 61, Phoenix 47

The Warriors tipped off the round-robin Hidden Valley tournament with a comfortable win over Phoenix out of Oregon.

Omar Banuelos scored a team-high 20 points in the win, as the Warriors continued to impress through the early season.

Kaleb Price added 11 points and Damien Dowd and Judson Pincombe seven points each.

Dowd returned to the lineup after missing a couple of weeks with an ankle injury and wasted no time settling right back in, while Pincombe had a big night on the boards.

“He did a great job rebounding for us,” Del Norte head coach Mark Slayton said.

The Warriors overcame a 23-22 deficit on the way to the win.

“It just came down to getting some extra chances at the offensive end and playing better at the defensive end,” Slayton said.

The Warriors will continue tourney play on Friday.

Arcata 61, Pleasant Valley 64, OT

The Tigers lost a close game in overtime to open the Red Bluff tournament on Thursday night.

Mason Railsback led the way offensively for Arcata, finishing with a team-high 20 points, including 17 in the second half and overtime.

Marcus Bensen added 12 points in the loss, while teammate Niko Zambas finished with 11.

With the loss, their second straight, the Tigers are now 5-3.

Kai Purcell added seven points.

McKinleyville 42, Shasta 60

The Panthers were held to just two third-quarter points and12 for the second half, as they saw an early challenge slip away against Shasta on the opening day at the Logger Classic.

The McKinleyville boys started strong and matched up with a good Wolves team through the opening two quarters, trailing by just one point at the interval.

“I thought we came out pretty good and matched their intensity and played real well actually,” McKinleyville head coach Sonny Tripp said. “And then just kind of went cold and they just started pulling away.”

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Ray Hamill writes at humboldtsports.com, where you can read lots more about sports in Humboldt County.