EUREKA — Humboldt High boys basketball avoided some close calls in a matchup against Eureka High, winning the contest 53-48.
For head coach David Taylor, the key for the game was to see where his teams strengths and weaknesses were for the first game of the season.
It didn’t hurt to edge out a win either.
The Cubs held close with the Tornadoes, the game was tied after the first quarter. Humboldt began to pull ahead in the second quarter, finishing the half with a 31-26 lead.
That was when Taylor said his team became too comfortable.
“We didn’t come out playing well in the third quarter, and they did come out playing well,” Taylor said.
The Tornadoes took the lead to start the second half, outscoring the Cubs 11-5 in the third period. The Cubs mustered enough points in the fourth for the comeback win, scoring 17.
Taylor said free throws were key for the team in the fourth — they made four out of eight attempts.
Tanner McNutt led the scoring for the Cubs with 17 points. Noah Thornbrugh was close behind with 14 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
As a team, the Cubs shot 51 percent from the field 8 for 14 from the free throw line. The team gave up the ball 10 times on turnovers.
Taylor said he was happy to see the way the team played overall, and they learned some useful things about themselves.
“I thought it was pretty good for the first game,” Taylor said. “You never really know what you’re going to get.”
“Eureka is a solid team and they run their stuff well. We didn’t run our offense very well tonight.”
He said neither team responded well to a full-court press, and the Cubs needed to learn to slow down their offense and give it time to work.
The Cubs will host Uniontown on Tuesday in their preseason tournament.
Humboldt (31-22—53)
Eureka (26-22—48)
Humboldt (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Vanatta 2-0-2-6, McNutt 3/2-5-17-3, Murrow 0/1-1-1-4, Whitcomb 2-2-4-6, Crawford 3-0-3-6, Thornbrugh 7-0-2-14. TOTALS: 15/5-8-15-53.
Eureka (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Pitko 0/2-2-3-8, Larcom 2/4-3-2-19, Hayes 1-0-3-2, Nelson 1-0-0-2, Lyon 0-0-3-0, Moots 8-1-2-17. TOTALS: 12/6-6-13-48.
Cubs hold off Eureka
