George Navarro turned in another strong performance on Saturday to lead the Hoopa Valley Warriors to the tournament championship at Etna.

Navarro was named tourney MVP after scoring 23 points in a 66-40 win over the host school in the decider.

“We were happy to get the win,” said Hoopa head coach Tyler Mitchell, who added his team was a little sloppy.

Despite that, the Warriors had a sizable lead throughout on the way to improving to 13-5 on the season.

Dennis Young also had a big game, finishing with 11 points and earning all-tournament honors.

Wade Nixon also saw substantial action as he returns from an ankle injury, finishing with 13 points.

“He looked good, and he said his ankle felt better today,” Mitchell said of Nixon. “He played maybe half the game and he was effective out there.”

The Warriors are returning to full fitness with their league opener looming.

“That’s the main goal,” Mitchell said. “To get healthy for league.”

The Warriors play Eureka on Monday before opening league play at Ferndale on Thursday.

Their first home game of the season will be next Saturday against South Fork.

St. Bernard’s 46, St. Vincent de Paul 43

The Crusaders won for the second straight game on Saturday, defeating the Mustangs in a close battle in Petaluma.

Lane Thrap scored 18 in the non-league win, with teammate Luke Fairfield adding 14 points.

But it was a team effort, according to head coach Steve Thrap, with solid contributions from the bench and “good improvement on things we’ve been struggling with.”

With the win, the Crusaders improved to 7-5 on the season, while the Mustangs dropped to 3-12.

St. Bernard’s, 1-0 in the Little 4, will play at Fortuna on Tuesday before resuming conference play at home to South Fork on Thursday.

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