‘Cardiac’ Cubs earn state berth

HUMBOLDT — It can’t be scientifically proven, but that gust of wind you felt Saturday evening may have come from a joyous sigh of relief emitted from fans packed into the Humboldt Community Fieldhouse.
Humboldt High’s Cubs continued their exhilarating ride to a possible state championship Saturday, in nearly the same manner as they did one night before — by the skin of their teeth.
One night after winning in double overtime against Burlington, Humboldt again went down to the wire, and beyond, against Eureka, in the Class 3A substate championship.
Humboldt’s 59-58 overtime win wasn’t secure until Eureka guard Colton Pitko, so dazzling and fearless up to that point, put up a baseline jumper as the clock neared :00.
“We knew he was going to take the shot,” said Cub senior Tanner McNutt, who was assigned to cover the diminutive Tornado sophomore on Eureka’s final possession. “He did a juke move and got past me. Luckily, Trey Johnson was there to cover.”
Johnson, whose driving layup with 20 seconds left in overtime gave Humboldt a 59-58 lead, raced along Pitko, leaping as the shot was released.
“I just tried to do what I could to keep him from scoring,” Johnson said.
The ball bounced off the rim and into the arms of McNutt as the buzzer sounded, and a contingent of euphoric Cub fans stormed the court.
That Johnson was there on defense was perhaps fitting. He scored all five of Humboldt’s overtime points, each time giving the Cubs a one-point lead.
“I just take what comes to me,” Johnson said. “We do what we need to for the team.”
Humboldt takes its 23-0 record to Hutchinson as the top seed in state tournament, which opens Thursday. The Cubs will take on eighth-seeded Salina-Sacred Heart at 6:30 p.m. in the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

AS IT HAS all season, Humboldt relied on its dynamic group of seniors to lead the way. Noah Thornbrugh was the catalyst in Humboldt’s third-quarter charge, scoring 11 as Humboldt overcame a nine-point deficit. His basket with 1:46 left in the third gave the Cubs their first lead, 39-38. His jumper from just inside the 3-point line with 1:05 left in the period put Humboldt up 41-38, its largest lead of the night.
Conversely, Eureka responded exclusively with underclassmen. The Tornadoes scored eight straight to retake a five-point lead. Pitko’s 3-point play tied the score at 41-41 before Braden Larcom connected from beyond the arc to put the Tornadoes up 44-41. The lead inexplicably grew to six after Humboldt lost possession just before time expired on the period. Blake Crawford was called for a foul as Larcom launched a shot from three-quarters court as the buzzer sounded, giving him three free throws. He hit two, putting Eureka on top 46-41.
The fun was just getting started.
Humboldt’s Nathan Whitcomb closed the gap to 46-44 with a layup and free throw to start the fourth quarter. Thornbrugh’s jumper tied the score at 46-all before Wes Moots scored on a putback to give the Tornadoes the edge, 48-46. McNutt’s 3-pointer at the 3:33 mark gave Humboldt a 49-48 lead. Pitko responded with a trey of his own to put Eureka back on top, 51-49. Thornbrugh scored again with 2 minutes left to tie the score at 51-51.
Larcom and McNutt exchanged 3-pointers on the teams’ next possessions, leaving the score deadlocked at 54-54.
The Cubs’ Hunter Murrow rebounded a Logan Hayes miss with 53 seconds left. Likewise, Whitcomb’s fadeaway attempt missed as time expired, forcing overtime.
Johnson’s free throw gave Humboldt a 55-54 lead, but Pitko scored his 18th and 19th points on free throws to put Eureka back in front, 56-55.
Each team came up empty on its next possession before Johnson’s layup with 1:43 left on the clock pushed Humboldt up 57-56. Moots scored to put Eureka back up 58-57 with 40 seconds left. Johnson got free inside for a score with 20 seconds left, setting up Eureka’s final possession.
“We wanted to keep Pitko away from the ball, but they ran him off a series of screens and he was able to get it,” Whitcomb said. “We were fortunate.”
“I guess you can sum up this team in two words: Cardiac Kids,” Humboldt coach David Taylor said. “They just keep finding ways to get things done.”
“Coach said something like it being 365 days of preparation to be here, but it’s been three years,” said Whitcomb, who transferred to Humboldt as a sophomore. “We’ve worked so hard to get to this point.”
Winning Saturday’s tilt involved more than physical skill, Whitcomb and McNutt agreed.
“We can handle games like this because we’re mentally tough,” Whitcomb said. “That’s what Coach preaches: mental toughness.”

THE MENTAL toughness was a necessity after Eureka started the night like gangbusters, zipping out to a 12-4 lead. Moots scored eight points and Pitko seven. The Tornadoes led 21-12 at the 6-minute mark of the second period.
McNutt’s layup triggered Humboldt’s first sustained volley. Thornbrugh sandwiched baskets around a Johnson 3-pointer as part of an 11-4 run to pull the Cubs to within 25-23 late in the half. Eureka’s Dalton Lyon drained a 3-pointer to give the Tornadoes a 28-23 halftime advantage.
Pitko’s steal and layup early in the third quarter put Eureka up 34-25, matching its largest lead of the game.
Thornbrugh, whose 23 points on 11-of-16 shooting were a game high. He also led Humboldt with 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. McNutt added 14 points and three assists, while Johnson scored 10 for the Cubs. Whitcomb scored nine. McNutt and Whitcomb each had three assists.
“We had different guys step up, which is how it’s supposed to work,” Thornbrugh said. “This has been our dream, to go to state. Now our goal is to win a state championship. It’s up to us to keep meeting our goals.”
Pitko’s 19 led Eureka. Moots added 14 and Larcom 10.
Eureka (16-12-18-8-4—58)
Humboldt (10-13-18-13-5—59)
Eureka (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Pitko 3/2-7-2-19, Larcom 1/2-2-3-10, Hayes 2/1-0-2-7, Nelson 1-1-2-3, Lyons 1/1-0-0-5, Moots 6-2-4-14. TOTALS: 14/6-12-14-58.
Humboldt (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Vanatta 0-0-2-0, McNutt 4/2-0-1-14, Murrow 0/1-0-0-3, Whitcomb 4-1-1-9, Johnson 3/1-1-3-10, Thornbrugh 11-1-4-23. TOTALS: 22/4-3-12-59.