LEON — Rayce Hoepker was pretty quiet — by Rayce Hoepker standards — on Tuesday night against Leon-Bluestem. That is, until the fourth quarter, when the Cubs turned to their star to help seal the win.
Hoepker lived at the free throw line in the fourth quarter as he repeatedly drew foul after foul, and cashed in from the stripe. Hoepker went 10-of-11 on free throws in the fourth quarter and the Cubs were 21-for-28 as a team to help secure a 63-51 win on the road.
“Overall, I was pleased with the win, because (Leon-Bluestem) really gets after it,” Humboldt coach David Taylor said. “They are a very good team.”
Hoepker led the Cubs in scoring with 34 points. His season average climbs closer to 30 at 29.7 points per game. Hoepker wasn’t the only Cub to step up on Tuesday.
Senior point guard Daylon Splane continued his strong all-around season with another stat-stuffing performance. Splane finished the game with 11 points, eight rebounds and seven steals.
Sophomore Bo Bigelow also continues to emerge as a backcourt complement to Hoepker and Splane. Bigelow finished the game with a team-high eight assists.
“Bo did better and had crisp passes,” Taylor said. “He didn’t score much (four points), but he gave us 16 points with those eight assists.”
Teryn Johnson had a very good scoring night with seven points and senior Joe Kline anchored the Cub defense with three blocks.
The Cubs’ junior varsity beat Leon-Bluestem 57-20 and the C-Team won 31-28.
GIRLS
A balanced scoring effort propelled the Cubs to a 56-32 win on Tuesday night over Leon-Bluestem.
Four Cubs were in double figures, led by senior forward Annalise Whitcomb with 15 points.
Aricah McCall added 12 points while Makaylah McCall had 11 and Tilar Wells chipped in 10.
“(We) played solid again tonight,” Humboldt coach Aubrey Jones said. “It was fun to have another game where they worked hard enough that all 11 girls got to see some time.”
The Cub junior varsity won 35-34.
UP NEXT
Friday looms large for both Cub squads as Erie returns to the Fieldhouse after delivering both Humboldt teams their only loss of the year the year in the Humboldt Tournament earlier this season.
