CHERRYVALE — When offense isn’t firing on all cylinders, it’s nice to have some solid backup on defense.
The Humboldt Cubs leaned on its Friday to down the Cherryvale Chargers, 45-41.
Humboldt won despite shooting a cold 26 percent from the field.
“A key stat would be our shooting percentage,” Head Coach David Taylor said. “We just didn’t shoot the ball well.”
But…
“We can hang our hats on defense and rebounding.”
Humboldt led 9-5 after one quarter and 25-17 at the half. Cherryvale stayed close down the stretch, but could never pull ahead.
Humboldt’s Markiz Pulliam hit 8 of 10 free throws — a saving grace according to Taylor to score a team-high 16 points. Hunter Murrow followed with 13, Kason Siemens had 10.
The Cubs shot 14 of 23 from the line, and had 29 rebounds. Justin Meins pulled down 10 boards; Pulliam had seven. Caleb D’Armond had four assists. Meins had three steals.
Taylor said the contest wasn’t always pretty, but was a learning experience.
“It was good for us to have to fight for four quarters,” Taylor said. “We were fortunate to win tonight.”
The win puts Humboldt at 8-1.. They travel to the Pleasanton Midseason Tournament Tuesday to take on Central Height.
The Cubs’ junior varsity squad won 54-28. Rhett Smith scored 17. Humboldt’s C Team lost 50-28.
Humboldt 9-16-10-10—45
Cherryvale 5-12-11-13—41
Humboldt (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Vanatta 0-1-1-1, H. Murrow 3/1-4-1-13, Carpenter 0-0-3-0, D’Armond 0-1-2-1, Meins 2-0-2-4, Pulliam 4-8-4-16, Siemens 2/2-0-3-10. TOTALS: 11/3-14-16-45.
Cherryvale (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Robertson 1-3-1-5, John 0-0-2-0, Trim 0-1-2-1, Raida 3/1-3-2-12, Thornton 1/1-1-5-6, Trout 2-0-2-4, Torkelson 2-0-2-4, D. Robertson 4-1-3-9. TOTALS: 13/2-9-19-41.
Humboldt earns road win
