St. Bernard’s unbeaten in Little 4, clinch crown

St. Bernard’s Liam Dyer looks for a pass last year against Shasta High in an overtime win. Dyer led SB with 29 points in Tuesday’s win over South Fork to clinch the Little 4. DYLAN MCNEILL — THE TIMES-STANDARD, FILE

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By Dylan McNeill

dmcneill@times-standard.com

Both the St. Bernard’s boys and girls basketball teams clinched Little 4 titles this week with wins over the South Fork Cubs. It’s not unfamiliar territory for the Crusaders, with both teams having won the Little 4 last year as well.

St. Bernard’s girls

It was the third-straight league title for the Crusaders girls team, which clinched sole possession of the Little 4 on Wednesday with one of the most dominant performances ever seen, defeating South Fork 68-4 to move St. Bernard’s to 24-1 on the season.

It’s been quite the follow-up for the Crusaders after a Division 4 CIF state championship a season ago, with St. Bernard’s keeping their foot on the pedal. Now that they’ve locked up another league title, the Crusaders girls have a chance to compete for the Niclai Tournament next week, after losing in the championship game to Eureka in a 45-42 thriller last year.

Senior Laila Florvilus has been stupendous this season, earning Cal-Hi Sports Northern California Girls Basketball State Player of the Week on Tuesday after she averaged 24 points per game when the Crusaders picked up a pair of league wins last week.

Florvilus scored 15 points in the win Wednesday over the Cubs, with her points per game sitting above 19 points. Florvilus gave St. Bernard’s the lead 30 seconds into the game and added another layup in the first minute to match South Fork’s scoring in the game in 52 seconds.

St. Bernard’s defense was in complete control all game, pitching a first-half shutout before the Cubs would score four points in the third quarter. The Crusaders led 30-0 after the first quarter, with their lead growing to 41-0 by halftime.

With the win, St. Bernard’s improves to 5-0 in the Little 4 before their league finale on Friday in Hoopa. According to MaxPreps’ rankings, the Crusaders are the No. 85 team in the entire state and the No. 3 Division 5 team in California. SB is listed as the No. 11 team in the North Coast Section, ahead of Arcata (No. 14) and below Eureka (No. 6) despite the Crusaders beating the Loggers 51-46 last month.

St. Bernard’s boys

The boys St. Bernard’s team clinched the Little 4 title on Tuesday in Miranda, beating South Fork 65-49 to move to 5-0 in league play and 18-4 overall on the season. Junior guard Liam Dyer opened the scoring for St. Bernard’s on Tuesday, hitting a corner three. Dyer finished with 13 points in the first quarter alone while knocking down three threes.

St. Bernard’s led 19-12 after the first quarter before taking a 37-29 lead into the locker room at halftime. South Fork cut into the lead in the third quarter, down just 45-40 entering the fourth.

The Crusaders handled business in the fourth however, outscoring the Cubs 20-9 in the fourth, with Dyer scoring eight of his 29 points in the fourth to put the finishing bow on the Crusaders league title.

St. Bernard’s closed out league play Thursday night against Hoopa Valley at home at 7:30 p.m. St. Bernard’s is the No. 1 Division 6 team in the state and are ranked 44th in all of the North Coast Section. MaxPreps has St. Bernard’s as the No. 3 H-DNL boys team behind only Arcata and McKinleyville.

With each St. Bernard’s team winning their league, both teams will get a first-round bye in the six-team Niclai Tournament next week with the Crusaders poised for a big run in both the girls and boys tournaments. Much like their girls team last year, the boys team fell in the Niclai championship game, losing to Arcata 64-60.

Dylan McNeill can be reached at 707-441-0526.