HUMBOLDT Too many second chances and too much Jaden Gard made life miserable Friday for Humboldt High.
The Erie senior started fast and ended faster, scorching the nets for 28 points as the Red Devils defeated Humboldt 72-62 to take home the Emprise Bank Tournament championship.
The Red Devils shot the ball well, Humboldt head coach David Taylor noted.
And on the off chance they missed, a Red Devil was usually there for an offensive rebound.
Youre not going to win if you dont rebound, Taylor said. We didnt stop dribble drive very well with our help defense, and we did not rebound. And they made us pay for all of it.
The Red Devils took the upper hand late in the second quarter, and maintained its advantage throughout the second half.
Bo Bigelows 3-pointer midway through the third quarter pulled Humboldt (2-2) to within 41-38, but a foul on the Cubs Conor Haviland turned into two fouls when he also was whistled for a technical. The Red Devils hit three free throws, plus the preceding basket, and suddenly Eries lead was at nine, 49-40.
A Tyler Pasquarelli putback moments later pushed the lead to double digits.
The Cubs got no closer than seven down the stretch.
Gard scored 10 points in the fourth quarter for the Red Devils.
Hes a tough matchup for us, Taylor said.
Pasquarelli added 15 for Erie.
A trio of Cubs reached double figures in scoring, led by Isiah Coronados 15 points and five assists. Tucker Hurst added 13 points with five boards, and Teryn Johnson notched 11 points, seven assists and four steals..
The effort was good to the end, Taylor said. We were trying hard, but the guys were their own worst enemy at times.
Thursday
Humboldt 62, Crest 40
Thursdays 62-40 victory over the Lancers offered up a mixture of both unselfish offense and active defense.
What I really liked was it looked like what weve done in years past, Taylor said. Our defense and rebounding feeds what were doing on offense. On offense, were reversing the ball and making their defense scramble. I was very pleased.
The Cubs took control from the start, putting together an 18-5 run over a 6-minute span in the first quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers from Caleb Coronado.
They played very unselfishly, Taylor said. It was very evident.
The look from Crests perspective was decidedly different.
Im disappointed in tonight, Crest head coach Travis Hermreck said. I knew Humboldt was good, and we knew coming in would be difficult. But I really thought we were at that point that we were ready to compete. But we didnt play hard, and we didnt play together. That was the whole theme of everything. We havent all bought in yet, and until we do, its going to be a struggle.
Crests Jacob Holloran gave the Lancers a second-half spark, scoring 12 of his game-high 15 points after the break. But it was too little, too late.
Hayden Hermreck wound up with 14 points for the Lancers, his final two coming on one of more spectacular high school dunks in recent memory. (He was forced to hang onto the rim for an extended period to avoid landing on a pair of Cub defenders.)
Meanwhile, Humboldt had 10 players score, led by Bigelows 14 points. Conor Haviland added 11 points, five boards, three steals and three assists. Coronado had 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Johnson had four steals and four assists.
Friday
Erie (14-21-21-1672) (FG/3pt): Duling 0-0-2-0, Vail 2-2-3-6, McGuire 1/1-2-1-7, Myers 3-1-1-7, Lehman 2-0-4-4, Gard 9/2-4-3-28, Pasquarelli 5-5-2-15. TOTALS: 23/4-14-16-72.
Humboldt (11-21-14-1662) (FG/3pt): Allen 0-0-2-0, Johnson 4/2-1-3-15, Haviland 1 /2-1-3-9, Bo Bigelow 1 /2-1-2-9, Hurst 6-1-3-13, Coronado 2-0-2-4, Bauer 0-0-1-0. TOTALS: 18/7-5-17-62.
Thursday
Crest (7-10-10-1340) (FG/3pt): T. Hermreck 0-0-2-0, Nolan 1-0-3-2, H. Hermreck 2/2-4-1-14, Prasko 1-0-0-2, Holoran 4/2-1-2-15, Beckmon 2-3-2-7. TOTALS: 10/4-8-10-40.
Humboldt (18-23-17-1462) (FG/3pt): Allen 1-0-2-2, Johnson 1/1-1-3-6, Dutton 0-0-1-0, Coronado 1/1-0-0-5, Sellman 0-0-1-0, Haviland 5-1-1-11, Bigelow 4/2-0-2-14, Hull 1-0-3-2, Hurst 4-0-3-8, Coronado 2/2-0-0-10, Bauer 1-0-1-2, Lassman 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 21/6-2-17-62.
