MOUND CITY — Wellsville High’s 3-point shooting prowess put Humboldt High’s Cubs in a hole Saturday evening.
The Eagles’ free throw shooting completed the job.
Wellsville shot an eye-popping 26 of 29 from the free throw line as the Eagles downed Humboldt, 77-65, in the Class 3A substate championship.
The Cubs ended their season with an 18-5 record.
“I can’t even talk about the game,” an emotional Humboldt head coach David Taylor said. “They’re good free throw shooters.”
The game was knotted at 34-34, following a 7-0 Cub run to tie the score midway through the third quarter when Wellsville’s Caleb Mann and Zach Vance caught fire from beyond the arc.
The pair combined to hit all five of their 3-point attempts — and Wellsville’s only 3-pointers in the game — over the next 7 minutes of game time.
Vance started and ended the flurry. His trey pushed the Eagles back in front. Mann then connected three times from downtown over the latter half of the period, including his buzzer-beater to put the Eagles up 50-42.
Humboldt seniors Rhett Smith and Jake Haviland scored on consecutive possessions early in the fourth quarter to pull Humboldt within 52-46, but Vance responded once again from 3. Kyle Powelson’s bucket less than a minute later put Wellsville up by double digits for good.
Wellsville hit 14 of 15 free throws in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
THE EARLY going proved to be a game of cat-and-mouse. Wellsville got the early advantage before Humboldt — usually sparked by Smith, Haviland or Corey Whitcomb off the bench — clawed back.
The Eagles led 8-2 and 11-4 before Humboldt responded with a quick 7-0 run. Smith’s 3-pointer tied the score at 11 apiece late in the quarter.
The Eagles responded with a 10-0 run to lead 24-13. Smith and Haviland combined to score nine of Humboldt’s 11 points in an 11-4 run to cut the halftime deficit to 28-24.
Wellsville threatened to pull away again, leading 34-27 before Anthony Doran scored on a drive to the hoop followed by a Smith 3-Pointer and a Haviland layup to not the score at 34-34.
That led to Wellsville’s closing flourish.
