HUMBOLDT — Humboldt High’s Cubs started hot and ended hotter Thursday evening.
Humboldt opened their tournament matchup against Crest with a 13-2 run to take the early advantage. The Lancers stayed within shouting distance from there, briefly cutting the lead to eight late in the third quarter.
But Humboldt ended with a kick, finishing the game with a 15-2 run to cruise to a 54-30 victory.
The Cubs remain spotless at 3-0, while Crest drops to 1-2.
Both teams wrapped up tournament action Friday, but those games were not completed until after deadline. (Check www.iolaregister.com or Monday’s Register for details.)
Humboldt has another home game against Marmaton Valley Tuesday before wrapping up its pre-Christmas schedule next Friday at home against Neodesha. Crest is idle until Jan. 4 when the Lancers travel to Jayhawk-Linn.
While there’s plenty to enjoy from the victory — junior forward Trey Sommer’s 26 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and two assists, for example — Humboldt head coach David Taylor said Thursday’s victory showed room for improvement.
“To be honest, we got outplayed in the half-court,” Taylor said. “Crest does a nice job with their sets. We’ve worked on defending around the perimeter, but we didn’t always do a good job.
“As a whole the team wasn’t good at staying within the offense,” he continued. “We just don’t let the offense work for us.”
Taylor said the offensive tone is usually set at the defensive end.
“It all stems from what we do at (the defensive) end of the floor,” he said. “All of a sudden, we’ll start getting in a rhythm. When we do the things we’re supposed to do, it works. Our scoring just explodes. If we don’t, it’s a struggle.”
It helps to have a guard like Drew Wilhite to super-charge the defense, Taylor acknowledged.
The Humboldt senior racked up nine steals and forced multiple other Lancer turnovers.
“If we could match Drew’s intensity,” Taylor said, somewhat wistfully. “I don’t know that you can play any harder than he’s playing. There were a couple of times where his intensity got him a cheap foul here and there, but I’m just really pleased with how he’s doing.”
Crest kept things interesting through the middle portions of the game.
Keaton Davis hit a 3-pointer and Ethan Prasko scored on a putback to cap a 9-0 Lancer run, cutting a 35-18 deficit to 35-27 with 2 minutes left in the third quarter.
