Humboldt cruises to tourney title

Humboldt High's Cubs blasted out of the gates and took a 19-2 lead and never looked back Friday in a 56-29 win over Erie to wrap up its preseason tournament. The Cubs are back in action Monday night against Eureka.

Sports

December 16, 2024 - 1:42 PM

Humboldt HIgh's Asher Hart controls the ball in a game earlier this season. Photo by Mike Myer

HUMBOLDT — Humboldt High’s Cubs proved once again that their best offense often stems from their defense.

Humboldt pressured visiting Erie into a cacophony of early mistakes, which in turn became a series of transition buckets.

By the time the dust settled from the lopsided first quarter, Humboldt was sitting atop a 19-2 lead.

The Cubs couldn’t keep up that pace over the final three quarters — playing three games in four days may have finally caught up with the players — but they still had things well in control of their 56-29 win.

The victory caps Humboldt’s 3-0 romp through the Humboldt-Emprise Bank Preseason tournament and gives the Cubs a 4-0 mark on the season.

The Cubs (4-0) hosted Eureka Thursday and will pay a visit to Neodesha Thursday to wrap up their pre-Christmas schedule.

“We were able to pressure them full -court in the first quarter,” Cub head coach David Taylor said. “I think we ran out of gas a little bit, and so we tried to run some half-court offense to get our legs back.”

The Red Devils were able to make a small dent in Humboldt’s lead in the second quarter, closing to 23-13 at the break, before Humboldt had another kick after halftime.

A 17-7 run pushed the Cubs back to a 40-20 lead after three.

Mason Sterling scored 13 points with seven rebounds; Colden Cook and Tre Franklin added 12 each. Cook led with eight rebounds. Franklin and Sterling both had four steals.

Nick Haviland’s 10 points paced Erie.

Erie (2-11-7-9—29)

FG/3pt FT F TP

Hughes 1/2 0 1 8

Richenberg 3 0 2 6

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