It was a showdown worthy of the hype.
Humboldt High’s Cubs and Anderson County High’s Bulldogs, featuring two of the best post players in southeast Kansas, were locked in a back-and-forth affair for the War on 54 Tournament Championship.
Humboldt, led by senior Colden Cook, took the early lead Friday and then answered every Bulldog charge, most of which came from the Bulldogs’ all-everything forward Noah Porter.
And while many who watched the Cubs emerge with a 57-53 win will focus on Cook’s 15 points and 12 rebounds vs. Porter’s 19 points and 14 boards, it was the Cubs’ collective approach that spelled victory, head coach David Taylor said.
“This was a total team, a total group effort,” Taylor said. “It was really fun to watch the kids get excited for each other, not just themselves. They all played solid. We did what we needed to against a team that’s pretty darned good.”
Humboldt took advantage of some early Anderson County miscues, taking a 17-10 lead after one quarter and a 32-25 lead at the break.
Humboldt then opened the second half with five straight points to take a 12-point lead before Porter started to exert his will at both ends of the court.
On top of blocking four shots, and thwarting numerous other attempts at the bucket, Porter also scored 10 points in the period.
His steal and slam late in the third, and free throw off an offensive rebound sliced Humboldt’s lead to 45-41 by the end of the period.
Humboldt’s Asher Hart hit a jumper early in the fourth before Anderson County’s Aidan Steele scored on a layup. Tre Franklin took the baton from there, hitting a jumper and 3-pointer on consecutive possessions as the Cubs stretched the lead to 52-43.
But Porter triggered an 8-2 Bulldog run with his defensive presence, which prevented the Cubs from attacking the rim.
Porter’s steal led to a Brayden Wheat layup, making it 54-49 with 55 seconds left. A block of Cook at the rim ended Humboldt’s next possession, leading to Porter’s bucket, slicing the gap to 54-51 with :26 showing.
But a critical foul negated another Porter steal with 13 seconds left. Humboldt’s Mason Sterling hit 1 of 2 free throws with 11 seconds left. Porter missed a layup on Anderson County’s next possession. Cook was fouled grabbing the rebound and hit both charities to put the game out of reach.
“Asher played well tonight,” Taylor said. “He got out of rhythm because of fouls, and we had to sit him longer than we wanted to. But Tre came up huge. Avery Works made some big plays for us. We had great energy, especially at the start. We had a little lull, but they battled through it.”
Blake Ellis had eight rebounds and two assists for the Cubs. Franklin and Sterling also had two assists. Cook also had two steals.
Porter finished with eight steals and four blocks on defense. Wheat scored 10 points with four assists.
