File photo – CR’s Jayden Johnson scored 13 points in Saturday’s loss.

The Corsairs had a pair of contrasting performances on the basketball court on Saturday afternoon.

The men’s team turned in one of its most impressive displays in a narrow loss to visiting Siskiyous, while the women’s team came out sluggish and never really recovered on the way to a 23-point loss to the same school.

Men

Redwoods 68, Siskiyous 73

Eureka freshman Jose Macaraeg led the way in a rejuvenated performance for a CR team that came into the game with a record of 0-16 and had recently gone through a midseason change in head coach.

“In the second half Jose caught a rhythm and showed that he belongs in this conference,” interim head coach Darren Turpin said of Macaraeg, who finished with a team-high 20 points.

Freshman Elysha Jackson, out of Las Vegas, added 14 points in the loss, while sophomore Logan Thrap, a former St. Bernard’s standout,  finished with 12 points.

The Corsairs trailed by just one point at halftime.

“Today’s game was a battle from the beginning to the end,” Turpin said. “We had a great week of preparation and we brought it to the game plan.

“I am extremely proud of how this team has overcome the adversity from throughout this season and the resilience they possess.”

The Eagles improved to 2-0 in the Golden Valley Conference and 5-15 overall, while CR is now 0-2 and 0-17.

Women

Redwoods 62, Siskiyous 85

The Redwoods women dropped their fifth straight with a disappointing performance against the visiting Eagles.

“We just didn’t play very good,” CR head coach Jain Tuey said. “We came out sluggish, with no energy or intensity.

“We had a pretty good game against Shasta (last weekend), but I’m not sure what happened today.”

A pair of freshmen led CR offensively, with former Arcata High standout Bree Northern scoring a team-high 16 points, and former St. Bernard’s standout Jayden Johnson finishing with 13.

Eureka sophomore Bobbie Purify added 12 points.

With the loss, CR dropped to 4-10 on the season and 0-2 in the GVC, while Siskiyous improved to 11-5 and 1-1.

Both CR teams will travel for a pair of games next week at Feather River on Thursday and Lassen on Saturday.

“One of the things I told them in the locker room is we need to get back to fundamentals, and make sure we’re doing the little things better,” Tuey said.

The coach added she may switch up the lineup.

“I know we’re a competitive team,” she said. “And with our league we could take any team on any night.”

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