Local digest

Men’s college basketball: Redwoods 83, Sac City 67

Zac Claus scored 21 points and the College of the Redwoods men’s basketball team took care of business in the semifinalround of the John Hogue Memorial Tournament, beating Sacramento City College 83-67 Friday night in Ukiah.

Redwoods scored 53 points in the first-half alone and led 60-30 early in the second-half.

“Zac has shown a lot of leadership at this tournament,” Redwoods head coach Ryan Bisio said. “He’s having a very memorable tournament.”

Thomas Nelson scored 20 points for Redwoods in the win while Donald Willis added 17 and Bradley Willis, 13.

Redwoods (7-3) will face Mendocino in the tournament’s championship game today. Mendocino beat Redwoods 91-78 on Nov. 15.

Women’s college basketball: Redwoods 70, San Jose City 53

Ashley Quigley led the Corsairs with 23 points as the Redwoods women’s basketball team downed San Jose City College 70-53 Friday night on the aforementioned’s home court.

Dennise Horton chipped in 16 points for Redwoods (3-2) in the win while Breesia Northern added 13.

Redwoods head coach Jain Tuey said her team, despite the win, came out a bit “lethargic” and struggled to put San Jose away.

The coach credited Horton with helping to secure the win. The former Del Norte Warrior scored 8 of her 16 points in the fourth-quarter and forced a few turnovers.

“(Horton’s) defense is a huge asset for us,” Tuey said. “She changed the game for us tonight.”

Redwoods will stay on the road today for a matchup at Hartnell College.

Sophia Chalmers hit 4 3-pointers and scored 23 points and the Eureka High girls basketball team opened its 2019 run with an impressive 75-45 win over Hercules, Friday night at Pinole Valley High.

Carly Boynton added 12 points for the Loggers in the win while Malia Guilbert poured in 10 off the bench and Kellina Pratton, 7 points and 6 assists. McKenna Beach scored 6 points for Eureka and had a productive night defensively with 5 steals.

Eureka (1-0) head coach Mike Harvey said what impressed him most about his club was their speed on offense and on defense, their ability to apply full-court pressure on Hercules.

“Last year we were predominately a half-court team on offense,” Harvey said. “We have so much speed now and we can get up and down the court in a hurry. It’s a fun type of basketball for the players to play and for the coaches to coach.”

Coaching wise, Eureka strengthened its brain trust over the off-season with the editions of former Fortuna High girls coaches Jesse Gerano and Romeo Steele.

Eureka beat Hercules 5844 in the first-round of the North Coast Section Division 3 playoffs last season. Eureka had seniors Paige Lyons, Makaila Napoleon and Dorshaela Wesson leading the way in 2018.

Friday night’s win, a 30-point blowout, comes by way of a new group of Loggers eager to prove Eureka will be skipping a rebuild year and moving right along towards another competitive season.

Eureka will take on Pinole Valley this afternoon before heading home for a foundation game Tuesday against Hoopa Valley.

“Last year we were predominately a half-court team on offense. We have so much speed now and we can get up and down the court in a hurry. It’s a fun type of basketball for the players to play and for the coaches to coach.” — Mike Harvey, Eureka girls basketball head coach