Humboldt downed by Eureka 51-42

HUMBOLDT — A highly anticipated showdown left Humboldt High searching for answers Tuesday.
The Cubs were plagued with missed shots, faulty passes and other assorted maladies as visiting Eureka High left town with a 51-42 victory.
The loss drops the Cubs to 12-3 overall and 4-3 in Tri-Valley League action.
The visiting Tornadoes didn’t play particularly well, but did enough on defense to keep Humboldt scuffling.
“We were soft inside,” Cub head coach David Taylor said. “We were off all night. When the other team makes more free throws (17) than you attempt (16), it tells you you didn’t play very well.”
The Cubs entered Tuesday averaging 68 points per game, but were limited to 24 through three quarters.
Humboldt amped up its defensive pressure in the fourth quarter, leading to its only sustained rally of the game.
Eureka led 35-24 after three, but Humboldt opened the fourth with an 8-2 run to cut the deficit to five, 37-32. Justin Meins’ 3-pointer at the 4:20 mark pulled Humboldt to within 39-35, before Eureka’s Braden Larcom responded with a trey 30 seconds later.
Rhett Smith’s traditional three-point play with 2:12 left pulled Humboldt within four, 42-38, and a defensive stop returned possession to the Cubs. But Ethan Bartlett was called for traveling as he set his feet to attempt a shot from the corner, giving possession back to the Tornadoes with 1:09 left.
Eureka drained 13 of its final 14 free throws to seal the win.
“Ethan played well for us,” Taylor said, “and I thought Rhett Smith gave us a spark off the bench.”
The rest of the team struggled against the Tornadoes’ quick defenders.
Bartlett drained 5 of 7 field goals to lead Humboldt with 12 points. The rest of the squad connected on just 9 of 39 attempts.
Humboldt also committed 19 turnovers.
“Eureka was the aggressor,” Taylor said. “Except for a 2-minute stretch in the fourth quarter, it seemed like they got almost every 50-50 ball.”
Neither team did much offensively in the early going.
Eureka led by as many as eight in the first half before Bartlett scored on a layup and a 3-pointer to pull Humboldt to within 19-16. Larcom’s trey late in the second gave the Tornadoes a 22-16 lead at intermission.
Markiz Pulliam had 11 points and nine rebounds for Humboldt. Smith wound up with seven points and two steals. Meins had three steals; Kason Siemens and Jacob Haviland had two steals apiece.
Larcom’s 17 points paced Eureka. DeAllen Nelson followed with 15.
The Tornadoes were a collective 17 of 23 from the line; Humboldt was 11 of 16.
Humboldt travels to Caney Valley Friday.
Eureka (13-9-13-16—51) (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Pitko 2-4-4-8, Talley 0-0-1-0, K. Parmes 1-1-1-3, Nelson 4-7-4-15, Lyon 1/1-1-1-6, T. Parmes 0-2-3-2, Larcom 3/3-2-1-17. TOTALS: 11/4-17-15-51.
Humboldt (8-8-8-18—42) (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Carpenter 0-0-1-0, Pulliam 3-5-1-11, Haviland 1-0-3-2, Bartlett 4/1-1-2-12, Meins 1/1-1-5-6, Siemens 1-2-1-4, Smith 1/1-2-5-7. TOTALS: 11/3-11-18-42.