Boy's Basketball | Girl's Basketball | Playoff Brackets
Boys Basketball Results
Stories Reprinted from Times-Standard.com
North Coast Sections Playoffs
View Playoff BracketsGateway 53, Hoopa 46
HOOPA VALLEY -- A brave second-half comeback fell just short for the Warriors Friday night, as Hoopa Valley crashed out of the North Coast Section playoffs.
Trailing for much of the night, the Warriors clawed back to within four points with just under a minute remaining, but could get no closer in a 53-46 loss to Gateway.
The loss ends the Warriors season at 22-9, one win shy of a return trip to the NorCal Tournament and a chance to defend their NCS Division V title.
Gateway, which improved to 26-6, will play Branson for the NCS crown today.
Playing in front a packed and boisterous home crowd, the Hoopa boys battled their way back into contention late in the game, but ultimately had no one to blame but themselves for facing such a deficit in the first place.
After dominating performances against Leggett Valley and St. Elizabeth earlier in the week, the Warriors shot poorly against a balanced Gateway, and never established much of a presence on the boards, especially at the defensive end.
The Warriors also failed to supply big center Everest Schmidt the ball effectively, and never got into much of a rhythm shooting from the outside.
During a disappointing and sloppy first half, the Warriors were held to just four points over a 10-minute spell, and found themselves eight points adrift at halftime.
The visitors, who had four players score in double digits, stretched the advantage to as many as 11 in the third quarter and then to 12 early in the fourth, before a late Hoopa charge made for an interesting finish.
In the end, however, the Warriors had dug themselves too big a hole to claw out of, and with the unrelenting Gators never going through a cold spell, Hoopa was unable to close the gap.
Schmidt finished with a team-high 21 points in his final game for Hoopa, while Ben Bussel added 17 points and proved to be the Warriors' most dangerous threat driving to the basket.
Aside from that, however, the Warriors showed little offense, with just eight points from the rest of the squad, who combined to go scoreless for the entire second half.
Defensively, Hoopa displayed a lot of hustle in a fast-paced game, forcing the visitors into several turnovers, with Bussel, Robert Gamill and Raymond Ferris all coming away with steals in the second quarter.
Brandon Lemus paced Gateway with 14 points, while Eric Allen added 12, Julian Faiges 11 and Clifton Szeto 10.
Schmidt stepped up big for the Warriors late in the game, scoring the team's final nine points and pulling Hoopa to within four with 56 seconds remaining.
The Warriors then immediately got the ball back on an inbound pass that went out of bounds, but were unable to mount much of anything on their final three possessions.
Gateway (53) - Lemus 14, Allen 12, Faiges 11, Szeto 10, Porter 4, Feierstein 2
3-pointers -- Lemus 2, Szeto 2Hoopa (46) - Schmidt 21, Bussel 17, Ferria 3, Jones 3, Marshall 2
3-pointers -- Ferris, Jones, BusselHoopa 76, St. Elizabeth 66
HOOPA VALLEY -- Don't look now, but the Hoopa Warriors are on a roll, and as usual they're doing so at a very opportune time.
With another strong performance Wednesday night, the Warriors dispatched an athletic and quick St. Elizabeth team 76-66 to advance to the semifinals of the North Coast Section Division V playoffs.
And as with recent Warrior teams, this squad appears to be growing stronger with every game.
"This is as good as any team I've ever had," said head coach Inker McCovey, now in his eighth year as coach. "I know they are. Right now their defensive intensity is excellent. It's not all on Everest (Schmidt's) shoulders."
Certainly, the Warriors got a balanced effort from the entire team, both offensively and defensively, but Schmidt also played a huge role Wednesday, particularly early on while his teammates warmed up to the occasion.
Schmidt dominated inside all night long, scoring 14 of his game-high 31 points in the first quarter, and added 24 rebounds and five assists.
Ben Bussel was also instrumental in the win, accounting for 21 points, including five 3-pointers, as well as doing an excellent job distributing the ball, and feeding Schmidt inside.
Bussel also hit a buzzer-beating 3 to leave the Warriors ahead by five at halftime.
The Warriors took the early lead and never surrendered the advantage as the visiting Mustangs looked tired after their long journey up from the Bay area.
Just like the Warriors' outside game, however, St. Elizabeth's warmed up by the second quarter, and the fast, agile Mustangs gave Hoopa plenty to handle and made for an exciting game for the packed and noisy house.
"It was a nice game," McCovey said. "We controlled the tempo, we played great defense, we ran our offense, and we worked it into Everest when we had to."
Hoopa (22-8) stretched the advantage to as many as 11 on the strength of a flurry of 3-pointers in the thrd quarter, with Bussel, Ramiro Ramirez, Tyrone Jones and Cy May all hitting the target from long range.
The Mustangs, however, kept pace behind the pinpoint accuracy of Marlo Johnson, who finished with 29 points, including six 3s, and didn't miss a second-half attempt until midway through the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Warriors had ample opportunities to put the game away quicker than they did, but missed a plethora of free-throws to keep the Mustangs' slender hopes alive.
Hoopa missed on 12-of-15 attempts from the line in the final 64 seconds, but made up for it with a strong presence on the boards, with Schmidt leading the way.
The win sets up a semifinal appearance against the No. 7 seed Gateway Friday at Hoopa. A victory there will secure a return trip to the NorCal Tournament next week regardless of the outcome of Saturday's NCS title game.
Jones finished with 11 points in the win, while Ramirez had six.
Hoopa 65, Leggett 27
HOOPA -- The defending NCS Division V champions easily took care of the visiting Panthers, with several players stepping up to carry the load.
Everest Schmidt scored a game-high 20 points, while Ben Bussel added 17, including five 3-pointers, and Tyrone Jones 13, including three 3s.
"We got out to fast start," said assistant coach Mike Hostler, whose team opened up a 20-5 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. "Basically we wanted to go out and work on our offense and work on our defense, and we did both of these things tonight."
In the fourth quarter, the Warriors (21-8) went to the bench to give some of the squad's younger players some NCS experience.
The third-seeded Warriors will host St. Elizabeth (19-17), which defeated Calistoga 91-60.
Hoopa Dick Niclai Champions
Hoopa 54, Eureka 47
EUREKA -- The boys and girls basketball teams at Eureka High School went through the Humboldt-Del Norte League Big Five schedule undefeated.
Both teams advanced to the championship game of the Dick Niclai Tournament Friday night at Humboldt State, and that's where things got interesting.
The girls tipped off the action at 6 p.m. as they faced Big Five nemesis McKinleyville. After trailing for most of the game, the Lady Loggers took control in the fourth quarter, limiting the Panthers to two points, en route to a 33-29 win.
The boys game, played in front of a packed house, courtesy of the raucous traveling party the Hoopa Warriors trail in their wake, saw Hoopa jump out to a 33-22 halftime lead as they knocked off the Loggers 54-47.
Hoopa head coach Inker McCovey, his voice non-existent as he held the Niclai championship trophy in his arms while well-wishers gave him hearty congratulations, was happy for his team.
"These guys are performing so well right now," he said. "There is nothing more joyful than bringing these kids down here and allowing them to share this feeling."
That feeling came on the back of a well-earned win against a tall, athletic Eureka team. The Warriors' big man, 6-foot-8, 250-pound Everest Schmidt scored a team-high 18 points, while Ramiro Ramirez scored 16, including knocking down four 3-pointers, as the Warriors upset the Big Five champs.
"We were mentally prepared for this," said Ramirez. "We remembered what happened the last time we played them, made our adjustments and came out here and played aggressive, Hoopa ball."
The preparation was obvious from the opening tip as Hoopa displayed more energy and more drive in the first quarter.
Schmidt scored 12 of his points in the opening quarter, as Hoopa served notice to the Loggers that this would not be a repeat of the last game, when Eureka ran the Warriors out of the Logger gym in a 73-56 rout.
Hoopa finished the first quarter with a 20-10 lead as it ran a patient offense, milking the clock, and looking for the best shot. The Loggers, who, if they had made a few more layups would have had a better shot at winning, were led by Mo Purify, who almost single-handedly kept his team in the hunt during the second half.
Purify finished with a game-high 21 points, and once again was an everything-man for the Loggers, handling the ball, defending Schmidt and bearing the brunt of the offensive attack.
Joshua Hash, the Eureka point guard, who had his hands full against the waves of Warriors McCovey threw out on the floor, scored 10 points. Eureka falls to 22-6 while Hoopa, who has a good shot of a home game on Tuesday when the North Coast Section playoffs start, improves to 21-9.
The Eureka girls had their hands full with McKinleyville, a team they had already beaten three times this season.
The Panthers opened in a 1-2-2 matchup zone, that they switched off-and-on with a 2-3 zone to frustrate the Loggers' penchant for getting penetration from their guards.
Mack took a 27-24 lead into the fourth, when the wheels fell off, thanks in large part to the Loggers defense. Eureka held the Panthers to one field goal in the final eight minutes, while Katrina denHeyer and Reia Shapiro took the game over.
denHeyer, who only scored four points, pulled down 11 rebounds, blocked two shots and played tough man-to-man defense against Mack's biggest threat, Ashley Curry.
"If I had to pick one, denHeyer was our MVP tonight," said Kristie Christiansen, as she smiled after the Loggers had captured their first Niclai championship. "She played a great game inside."
Ashley Crnich led Eureka with 10 points and Shapiro added six, as the Loggers won their 18th consecutive game.
Curry led the Panthers with 10 points, while guard Alex Iorg added seven, but the scoring dropped off from there. McKinleyville coach Brad Warze pointed to conditioning as a factor as his team struggled in the fourth.
"They were in better shape than us and it's unfortunate," he said. "Curry, whose effort I thought was extraordinary, is only playing at 90 percent. We just need to find some offense."
McKinleyville (22-7) will certainly move on to the NCS and is in a good position to host a first-round game. Eureka improves to 24-3 and is hungry to add a 19th win to its impressive streak as the NCS begins next week.
Hoopa 47, Del Norte 36
HOOPA -- The eyes have it -- and the Hoopa boys basketball team likes what it sees.
Hoopa marched into the championship game of the Dick Niclai Basketball Tournament Wednesday night, defeating Del Norte 47-36 to set up a matchup with Big Five champion Eureka.
The Loggers, who defeated South Fork 58-30, and Warriors will play at 8 Friday night at Humboldt State in the second game of a doubleheader. The girls will play for their championship at 6.
"We're back, I can see it in their eyes," said Warriors head coach Inker McCovey, whose team improved to 20-9.
Hoopa, which has struggled at times this season, erased a two-point halftime deficit, outscoring the Warriors by eight in the third quarter.
Six-foot-eight center Everett Schmidt scored 17 points, had 13 rebounds and blocked 11 shots for Hoopa. which also got good play from several other individuals.
Hoopa made several adjustments between the first and second quarters, putting a greater emphasis on pressuring Del Norte, which finishes the regular season 17-9 under first-year coach Blaine Lopez.
Del Norte tried to push the basketball inside, only to have many of its attempts stopped by Schmidt.
Darren Brous led Del Norte with 12 points.
Hoopa's play, according to assistant coach Mike Hostler, has been progressing to this point and the Warriors have been shooting well from the field.
Del Norte scored only two points in the fourth quarter as Hoopa added to its advantage.
Hostler said both teams played well, with only 21 fouls called.
Hoopa 76, South Fork 60
HOOPA -- The Little Four is so good this season, they decided to settle for three champions instead of one.
With a 76-60 victory over South Fork in both teams' regular season finale Thursday night, the Hoopa Warriors forced a three-way tie atop the L4 standings, and a three-way split of the conference crown with the Cubs and St. Bernard's.
In what turned out to be one of the tightest races in decades, the win gave Hoopa a two-game league sweep of South Fork, which in turn had earlier completed a two-game sweep over St. Bernard's, which in turn had completed a sweep over Hoopa.
But while the league title is shared, there will be a three-way playoff today and Saturday to decide which team gets the one automatic North Coast Section playoff berth allotted to the L4, as well as the top seed and a first-round bye in next week's Humboldt-Del Norte League Dick Niclai Tournament.
The playoff was set up on a coin toss at McKinleyville High Thursday afternoon. St. Bernard's will travel to Hoopa tonight, with the winner then hosting South Fork for the tiebreaker Saturday.
None of that would have mattered had South Fork pulled out a win in a packed and noisy Hoopa gym, and early on it looked well within the Cubs' reach.
With an emotional Jeff Harnish leading the way, the Cubs came storming out of the gates to open up an 11-point lead midway through the first quarter.
Hoopa, which was held scoreless for a four-minute spell early in the game, shoot poorly in the first quarter and had difficulty getting the ball inside to 6-foot-8 center Everest Schmidt.
By the second quarter, however, the Warriors started to warm up, and with the help of some poor ballhandling by the visitors, Hoopa battled back to tie the game on a Ben Bussell Basket off a Ramiro Ramirez steal with just 30 seconds remaining in the half.
Bussell then added a 3-pointer just as time expired to give the Warriors a three-point lead and some much-needed momentum heading into the interval.
"We didn't take care of the ball in the second quarter, and that was the biggest part of our downfall," South Fork coach Dave Bushnell said.
Schmidt also played a big role in that downfall, accounting for a game-high 31 points, 14 rebounds and six assists, and got plenty of help from a supporting cast that did a good job of feeding their big man after the slow start.
"I think we had a pretty good inside game tonight," said Hoopa coach Inker McCovey. "It's pretty hard to stop him when he comes to play."
Corey Bushnell netted a team-high 17 points for the Cubs (12-13), while AJ Moore added 12 and Harnish 11.
Bussell had a big night for the Warriors (19-9), finishing with 19 points and eight assists, while Cliff Marshall added five assists and five points.
"We started poorly, but we put in a faster group and we picked up the pace," McCovey said. "I thought we played pretty well."
Hoopa 62, Ferndale 50
FERNDALE -- The Warriors kept their Little Four championship hopes alive and set up the possibility of a three-way tie for the title with a victory over the Cats.
The win lifts Hoopa to 3-2 in the L4, a game behind South Fork (4-1) and a half-game back of St. Bernard's (4-2).
A victory for Hoopa at home to South Fork Thursday will leave all three teams in a tie for first.
That would give each a share of the league crown, but a playoff will have to take place to decide who gets the one automatic bid for the NCS as well as the bye in next week's Dick Niclai Tournament.
Everest Schmidt scored a game-high 21 points in the win, while Ben Bussel added 13 and Cliff Marshall 10.
Brennan Pedrotti continued to play well for the Cats, scoring a game-high 19 points to go with the 25 he netted in a loss to South Fork last week.
Adam Bugenig added 11 points for Ferndale (0-6, 7-14).
Hoopa is now 18-9 overall.
Hoopa 67, Arcata 66
HOOPA -- Center Everest Schmidt had 26 points and 16 points as the Warriors held on in the final minutes in a non-conference game.
Hoopa, 3-2 in the Little Four and 17-9 overall, maintained the lead throughout the game, though the Tigers (1-6, 11-13) were able to close to within a point with 1.8 seconds left.
Cy May scored 12 points, Robbie Gammill had 10 and Tyrone Jones and Ramiro Ramirez had nine each for Hoopa.
For Arcata, Nate Faulk had 14 points and Derek Marshall and Shawn Cox had 11 each.
Del Norte 47, Hoopa 46
CRESCENT CITY -- Not for the first time in recent years, a game between Hoopa and Del Norte went down to the wire.
This time, it was Del Norte which proved victorious, edging their Humboldt-Del Norte League rivals at the Warrior Classic.
The loss was the second straight for Hoopa (7-3), although defensively the Warriors have picked up the pace in recent games.
"Our guys played awesome tonight," Hoop assistant coach Mike Hostler said. "We played great defense, but the officiating was horrible.
"I really don't think the officials up here are ready for our big man (Everest Schmidt), and tonight the officiating was absolutely horrible. They made some very weak calls."
Schmidt finished with 17 points in the loss, while teammate Ben Bussel added nine.
Del Norte sealed the win with a big fourth quarter, outscoring the visitors 18-6 for the period after trailing by 11 after three quarters.
Hoopa 95, Mendocino 29
CRESCENT CITY -- The Warriors exploded for 34 points in the second quarter and never looked back as they advanced to the second round.
Ben Bussel led Hoopa with 34 points and Everest Schmidt added 23. Chris Marshall scored 16 and Ramiro Ramirez added seven.
Hoopa 71, St. Bernards 65
CLOVERDALE -- Everest Schmidt exploded for 32 points as the Warriors won the all-H-DNL final over Little Four rival St. Bernard's 71-65 Saturday night at the John McMillan Holiday Invitational in Cloverdale.
Schmidt averaged 32.1 points per game over the three games and he got some help from Cliff Marshall. Marshall scored 19 and Ramiro Ramirez added nine as the Warriors improved to 6-1.
Ben Horton led the Crusaders as he scored 23 points, including knocking down five 3-pointers. Joe Davis scored 10 for St. Bernard's and Todd Morris scored 16 as the Crusaders were unable to hold off a Hoopa fourth quarter run.
St. Bernard's was ahead by eight early in the third quarter, 48-39, but then Hoopa went on a 24-2 run to seal the win.
Crusader head coach Dave Michael knew his team had its work cut out for it. "We shot the ball well in the first half we just lost our legs in the fourth," he said. "Hoopa puts a lot of pressure on you and we weren't quite up to the task for four quarters."
St. Bernard's drops to 4-2.
Girls Basketball Results
Stories Reprinted from Times-Standard.com
Hoopa 54, Ferndale 44
HOOPA -- Pam Ames had 22 points, incuding four 3-pointers, Wednesday night as the Hoopa girls basketball team scored a 54-44 victory over Ferndale, the Warriors' first victory in the Little Four this season.
First-year Warriors coach John Gilliam summed up his feelings with one word, "finally."
The win was only the fourth in 20 games for Hoopa, which closes its season at South Fork on Friday.
Rena Gibbens had 15 points and Tika Munoz added 10 for Hoopa.
Felicia Miranda had 12 for Ferndale (2-4, 8-12).
Arcata 58, Hoopa 32
ARCATA -- The Arcata girls put the clamps on Hoopa's best scorer, Pam Ames, and along with scoring spread out through the team, they took the non-conference matchup against the Warriors.
Natalie Bensky scored a game-high 16 points to lead the Tigers while Heidi Musolf scored nine. Maya Johnson scored eight and Majesta Suarez added seven.
Head coach Tahnia Campbell was pleased with her team's effort. "Balanced scoring and good defense got us through," she said.
Arcata improved to 8-13 with the win, while Hoopa drops to 3-16.
St. Bernards 57, Hoopa 55
HOOPA -- St. Bernard's remained perfect in Little Four Conference girls basketball Friday night, holding on for a 57-55 victory over still-winless Hoopa.
The Crusaders, now 4-0 in the Little Four and 14-8 overall, led by two points in the final seconds, but Hoopa was unable to convert the first of a one-and-one free throw situation that eventually could have tied the game.
Brittany Vitale scored 20 points and Janel Skilman had 15 for St. Bernard's, which trailed by seven at the end of the first quarter.
Pam Ames led all scorers with 21 points, while teammate Rena Gibbens had 18. The loss dropped Hoopa to 0-4 in the Little Four and 3-15 overall.
It was, said Hoopa coach John Gilliam, a well played game, with Rosie Donahue, a backup player, starting in place of regular Karmen McCovey and playing well.
McCovey, who suffered a spider bite, was unable to play and her status is game to game, said Gilliam.
After falling behind 17-10 in the first quarter, St. Bernard's came back and the teams were tied 26-26 at halftime.
The Crusaders then went in front by three at the end of the third quarter.
Heidi Bareilles (seven points) and Linda Ford (six points) also played well for St. Bernard's.
McKinleyville 56, Hoopa 27
MCKINLEYVILLE -- The Lady Panthers had 12 of 13 players score during the non-conference win, but head coach Brad Warze wishes his team had played with a little more fire.
"It wasn't the effort we had hoped for as we get ready for Eureka on Friday," he said. "We didn't play with the intensity we are going to need to tie up the league on Friday."
Freshman Courtney Cuffee led McKinleyville with 10 points, but the biggest basket of the night came from senior foreign exchange student Rahel Albrecht, who scored her first field goal of the season.
Ashley Curry and Ashley Bones each scored six points, while Breah Smith, Shasta Reed and Hannah DePute each scored five.
Pam Ames had the hot hand for Hoopa once again as she knocked down a team-high 13 points and Rena Gibbens scored eight.
McKinleyville improves to 16-5 overall while Hoopa drops to 3-14.
St. Bernard's 55, Hoopa 44
EUREKA -- The Hoopa Lady Warriors are making life difficult for rival teams in this early season. St. Bernard's took down Hoopa in the second round of the Christmas Classic Friday night, but not without a fight.
"Hoopa is just so tough," said St. Bernard's coach L.J. Skillman.
St. Bernard's got 13 points from Brittany Vitale, 13 points from Janel Skillman, 12 points from Linda Ford and 11 from Heidi Bareilles to hold off Hoopa.
The Lady Warriors were led by Rena Gibbens who scored 10 points, Karmen McCovey who scored nine and Pam Ames who scored seven.
St. Bernard's will face Ferndale in the championship tonight at 7.
"That's going to be a tough battle," Skillman said. "Art (Barri) knows how to coach those girls and they have great team balance."
Hoopa 34, Upper Lake 26
Christmas Classic in Eureka -- Rena Gibbens led the Lady Warriors with 10 points as Hoopa improved to 2-1. Ryan Allen added eight points for Hoopa, who did double-duty and played in both local tournaments Thursday night, at St. Bernard's and at McKinleyville.
Hoopa 59, Ferndale 38
FERNDALE -- With the cancellation of the Mendocino Tournament, Ferndale, South Fork and Hoopa decided to get together and play some games against themselves Saturday night.
In game one, Karmen McCovey scored 14 points for the Lady Warriors and Rena Gibbens added 10, as Hoopa defeated Ferndale.
Pam Ames scored nine, Melissa Jarnaghan added seven and Ryan Allen scored six.
Haily Miranda led Ferndale with 15, Stephanie DeMarzi scored nine and Felicia Miranda added seven. Ferndale drops to 2-2.
South Fork 45, Hoopa 38
FERNDALE -- Rachelle Connolly led the Lady Cubs with 12 points and Katie Collinsworth added nine as South Fork knocked off Hoopa.
Coach Jeff Moody, with a 4-1 team, is pleased with the early-season success.
"We are looking for improvement in decision-making," he said. "We have the ball-handlers, now we just need to handle the ball better."
North Coast Section Boys Basketball Power Ratings
Click Here for the North Coast Section Website
PO Box 1348 ~ Hoopa, California 95546 ~ (530) 625.4211
Home
| Culture
| Departments
| Downloads
| Enterprises
| Government
| Links |
News | WebMail
E-mail comments or questions to the WebMaster
