Arcata point guard Will Taylor was guarded tightly by Middletown's Jereomy Hoefer during the North Coast Section Division 4 tournament in Middletown, Calif., on Wednesday, February 23, 2011. Photo by Ed Oswalt.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – After riding a six-game league win streak into a North Coast Section Division 4 tournament berth as the #12 seed, the Middletown Mustangs boys basketball team was ousted by the fifth-seeded Tigers of Arcata in Middletown Wednesday night.

Middletown scored on a breakaway basket by Bo Sheffer off the opening tip, but managed only one more basket in the opening quarter, falling behind 13-4.

After trailing 36-23 late in the third quarter, Middletown energized themselves and the crowd with a 10-0 run to close to within 36-33 with five and a half minutes left in the game, but never got closer than three points and ultimately lost 50-44.

Middletown finished their league season strong, with wins in their last five regularly scheduled league games to tie Fort Bragg at 6-2, and then a win in a tiebreaker game to claim the NCL North league title in GJ Rockwell's first season as head coach.

Middletown's Nick Delia grabs a rebound over Arcata's Brandon Pomeran during the North Coast Section Division 4 tournament in Middletown, Calif., on Wednesday, February 23, 2011. Photo by Ed Oswalt.

After the game, victorious Arcata Coach Eric Vollmers praised Middletown, saying, “They played real well, real hard, and we're just glad we're advancing.”

Arcata's big advantage was their tall front line players, including 6 foot, 11 inch Max Schmidt, who Vollmers was not even sure would play due to his having the flu.

“He played more than I thought he would, and for a while it seemed like he was getting every rebound out there,” Vollmers said.

Middletown scorers were seniors Chris Oatman and John Wesley Davis with 11 each, senior Bo Sheffer with 9, junior Nick Delia 8 and junior DJ Brookshire, 5.

Arcata scoring was led by Tom Witzel with 24 points and Will Taylor with 11.

Middletown's John Wesley Davis drives on a fast break during Middletown's 10-0 late game run during the North Coast Section Division 4 tournament in Middletown, Calif., on Wednesday, February 23, 2011. Photo by Ed Oswalt.

Middletown ends their season with an 18 win, 10 loss record.

Arcata, now 22-7, advances to play St Patrick-St Vincent High School in Vallejo Saturday night.

Lake County's other participant in North Coast Section playoffs was the Lower Lake girls team, which lost to Branson High Wednesday night 64-27, finishing their season at 17-9.

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Tanner Alves and Chris Oatman of the Middletown Mustangs battle Brandon Pomeran of Arcata for a loose ball in Arcata's North Coast Section playoff win in Middletown, Calif., on Wednesday, February 23, 2011. Photo by Ed Oswalt.

Junior DJ Brookshire passes off on fast break for the Middletown Mustangs in their 50-44 playoff loss to the Arcata Tigers in Middletown, Calif., on Wednesday, February 23, 2011. Photo by Ed Oswalt.