HUMBOLDT — Humboldt High head coach David Taylor was disappointed in the loss, but not the least bit upset with how his team played.
The Cubs, featuring a number of players who made their varsity debuts Friday, fought valiantly against a taller Neodesha High squad, but fell short 45-39.
“They had a deer in the headlights look for a while, but the kids showed a lot of energy,” Taylor said.
Neodesha took advantage of Humboldt’s early game jitters, racing to a 10-0 lead by the 2-minute mark of the first quarter.
But Humboldt settled down on offense by firing up on defense, pressuring the ball at every opportunity.
The Cubs scored the final five points of the quarter, part of a 10-2 run that closed the Neodesha lead to 12-10.
The game was back-and-forth from there, with Humboldt holding a slim lead early in the fourth quarter.
“But they hit a big three and that kind of let the air out of our sails,” Taylor said.
Derrik McCall led Humboldt with 14 points and five assists, while Seth Nickell had eight points and nine rebounds and Trey Johnson had six points, seven rebounds and two steals.
“Seth Nickell did a lot of good things for us tonight, and Derrik McCall was effective as well,” Taylor said.
Dathian Hawkins and Jacob Scott shared high scoring honors for Neodesha with 10 points apiece.
Humboldt resumes play Tuesday at home in its preseason tournament against Uniontown.
Neodesha (10-14-7-14—45) (FG/3-pt): Lopez 1-0-2-2, Knickerbocker 4-1-2-9, Hawkins 2/1-3-2-10, Scott 5-0-2-10, Baird 2-0-2-4, Groth 2-0-2-4, Depew 0-0-1-0, Orr 2-2-4-6. TOTALS: 18/1-6-17-49.
Humboldt (5-10-13-11—39) (FG/3-pt): Murrow 1-0-0-2, McCall 1/3-3-3-14, Crawford 2-0-5-4, Johnson 3-0-2-6, Nickell 3-2-2-8, Vanatta 0/1-0-2-3, Betzen 1-0-2-2. TOTALS: 11/4-5-16-45.
Bluestreaks beat Cubs
