McKinleyville wins Niclai title
Panthers earn tournament championship for first time since ’96
The environment was electric. The teams were tough. And the result? Unforgettable.
The underdog Panthers got their revenge on the Tigers on Friday night after losing twice in the league season, and they couldn’t have picked a better moment. In an overtime thriller that energized the crowd to the point that Lumberjack Arena became deafening, McKinleyville pulled off an incredible comeback to beat Arcata 60-52 and win their first Niclai title game since 1996.
“I’m not to say we were perfect tonight,” said McKinleyville coach Tyler Pelascini. “But I thought we handled it a lot better. And we made it a hell of a lot tougher for them. I just couldn’t be more proud of these boys.”
McKinleyville won with toughness in the finale of the Humboldt-Del Norte League season. The Panthers embraced the physicality that the officials allowed and responded with key buckets on the interior down the stretch. And in crunch time, the senior experience of McKinleyville seemed to be the difference as they went on a 8-0 run in overtime to secure the win.
“Early on, I think we just bumped around by a lot of teams if they wanted to be physical,” said Pelascini. “Just try to embrace it and get familiar with it and comfortable with it. And, you know, it showed and it finally paid off.”
It was a back-and-forth battle from the opening tip-off as both teams pushed the pace. Whether a result of nerves or strategy or some combination of the two, both teams were flying up and down the court as they tried to establish an offensive comfort level
in the big game. But the jitters were clearly present as both teams failed to score a bucket in the final 1:47 of the first quarter. Arcata ended the opening quarter with a 13-11 lead.
Arcata point guard Brandon Bento-Jackson carried the offense early on, but at times became his own worst enemy as he frequently ran isolation looks into the teeth of a tough McKinleyville defense. For McKinleyville, seniors Jack Clancy and Cody Whitmer were key offensively as they converted tough looks on the interior. The game continued to be neck-andneck, with Arcata scoring a buzzer-beating putback layup to end the half with a 27-26 lead.
In the third quarter, Arcata’s outside shooting heated up as Bento-Jackson and Dawson Vallerga made big shots to spur a 10-0 Tigers run that gave them a 39-30 lead. It appeared that big brother was about to win this rivalry matchup once again. But the experienced and resilient Panthers fought back, cutting the lead to 43-37 heading into the fourth.
The Panthers continued with their fighting spirit in the final period, going on a 7-0 run that was highlighted by a go-ahead layup through contact by Jack Clancy. McKinleyville’s lead would prove to be short-lived as the teams continued to battle and the crowd reached a fever pitch with each momentous made basket. Whitmer made two free throws to give the Panthers a 5049 with less than a minute remaining. The Panthers added one more bucket off a turnover by Arcata, leading 52-49 with 20 seconds remaining in the game.
Then the small sophomore guard Vallerga came up big. The Tigers got penetration on the interior to create an opening for Vallerga to take a 3-point shot from the corner. He nailed it. The crowd exploded into a deafening roar.
With 10 seconds left, McKinleyville was unable to capitalize on their final possession as the game went to overtime.
But the Panthers were unshaken by that botched chance at the game’s last shot. They were cool and collected as Whitmer and junior point guard Jordan Brown initiated offensive possessions for McKinleyville that generated good looks. It was a stark contrast to the Tigers, who appeared to be rattled by the game’s biggest moments and couldn’t convert their open looks.
There was no lacking effort for Arcata, who battled on the offensive glass to gain extra possessions. But ultimately the Tigers couldn’t convert against the relentless McKinleyville defense.
Whitmer had a put-back layup with two minutes left in overtime to give the Panthers a 58-52 lead that essentially put the game out of reach while McKinleyville locked down the Arcata offense. It was an appropriate ending to a game that was won by grit.
“At the beginning of the year, we had to pull (Whitmer) if he thought he was getting fouled,” said Pelascini. “As the year had gone on, he learned to embrace it. He got a little more physical back, he stayed under control in his body. He didn’t allow the offensive end to affect his defensive end.”
“That’s a leader and that’s senior leadership,” added Pelascini. “That’s what you hope for anybody to grow like that through experiences in life, nonetheless basketball.”
Growth and maturity is the subplot of an underdog story that culminated with an incredible comeback victory in the season’s biggest moment.
In the orange program handed out to attendees at Lumberjack Arena, there was a section on the former Humboldt State professor and coach whose legacy lives on with his namesake tournament. It read, “Dick Niclai was a proponent of the value of high school athletics to enrich the lives of the youth of our local communities.”
Considering the journey this McKinleyville team has been on, it’s safe to say they honored Niclai’s memory with their performance on Friday night.