HUMBOLDT — The Humboldt Middle School Cubs opened 2026 with a sweep of Three Rivers League foe Eureka while hosting the Tornados Thursday night.
The Humboldt A-team won 43-33, the B-Team won 31-17 and the C-Team won 23-17, which has Coach Humboldt coach Jeremy Weilert excited for Monday’s TRL road trip to Bluestem.
“We did a lot of things right tonight. We were pretty good from the floor, he said. “We had more steals than turnovers and we outrebounded them. It was good to get our first A-Team win of the season.”
After ending the first quarter just ahead following a 13-11 dogfight, Humboldt slowly pulled away with 6 points in the second quarter, then six more in the third before exploding with 18 points in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
Waylon Johnson had a team-leading 11 points, followed by Elijah Irby with 9 points, then Mason Gunderman and Tate Thomas with 8 points each. Irby was just a point shy of a double-double with a team-leading 10 rebounds, followed by Johnson and Gunderman with four boards each.
In B-Team action, the Cubs were on Eureka from the first whistle. They jumped out to an 8-2 lead after the first quarter, then held Eureka scoreless in the second quarter to lead 13-2 by halftime. A 15-point second half failed to get Eureka back in the contest as Humboldt posted 9 points in the third and fourth quarter to hold on for the win.
Lane Newman had a team-leading 11 points, followed by Mason Mueller with 8 points and Aaron Willie with 4 points. Willie had a team-leading six rebounds, followed by Mueller with five and a slew of Cubs with two rebounds each.
In C-Team action, the Cubs jumped out to a 5-0 lead by the end of the first quarter, but Eureka rallied to make a game of it by halftime with Humboldt leading 8-6. The Cubs shut the Tornados out in the third quarter and allowed 11 points in the fourth, but Humboldt’s 15-point second half kept Eureka out of contention.
Marcus Whitcomb had a team-leading 8 points, followed by Sawyer Robinson with 6 points and Cline Downey with 5 points. Robinson had a team-leading three rebounds, followed by Zaden Mallen with two boards.
The Cubs return to the hardwood Monday while visiting Bluestem. Games begin at 5 p.m.
