Humboldt Cubs steamroll Neodesha

HUMBOLDT — David Taylor frequently stresses the importance of starting the second half on a high note.
His Humboldt High squad did him much better than that Tuesday, limiting visiting Neodesha High to nine second-half points in a 72-38 whitewash.
The win lifts the Cubs to 14-3 on the season.
“We had good energy,” Taylor said. “The guys played unselfishly. We had a couple of times where we got caught out of position, but I was very pleased with how we played defensively.”
The game featured a series of Humboldt runs, allowing the Cubs to take control.
Humboldt used a 9-0 spurt to lead 13-5 in the first quarter, and an 8-2 run to pull away after Neodesha pulled within 13-11.
“We had a lull over about 60 or 90 seconds, and that allowed them to get back into it,” Taylor said. “But I was happy with how we responded.”
A 9-2 Humboldt run to start the second quarter pushed the lead into double digits for good.
Humboldt led 43-29 at the break.
A 10-0 spurt to start the second half erased all drama from there.
Justin Meins and Kason Siemens scored six points apiece as Humboldt outscored Neodesha 20-4 over the third quarter, pushing the lead to 63-33.
Rayce Hoepker’s 3-pointer late in the contest pushed the lead to 72-36.
Siemens led the way with 19 points, five assists and two steals, while Markiz Pulliam followed with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Meins had 10 points, seven rebounds, two steals and five assists. Rhett Smith and Jake Haviland also had two steals. Jacob Carpenter chipped in with seven points and five rebounds.
“Justin did a nice job of getting to the basket,” Taylor said. “He usually leads us in assists, and he did so again tonight.”
Drew Stover and Colton Cunningham led Neodesha with seven points each.
The Bluestreaks prevailed, 58-50, in junior varsity action. Anthony Doran scored 17 and Hoepker had 14 for the Cubs’ JV.
Humboldt took home a 58-27 win in the C team contest. Daylon Splane’s 17 and Wyatt Seufert’s 10 led the way.
Humboldt resumes play Friday at Fredonia.
Neodesha (16-13-4-5—38) (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Stover 1/1-4-2-7, Cunningham 2/1-0-1-7, Wells 1-0-3-2, Mitchell 0/1-2-0-5, Curt 1-0-2-2, Canterbury 2-0-2-4, Ivy 0-2-2-2, Rohling 2-2-2-4. TOTALS: 10/3-9-13-38.