EUREKA — A similar refrain plagued Humboldt High’s basketball teams Friday.
Both the Cubs and Lady Cubs started out on the right foot, but second- and third-quarter doldrums did them in.
For Humboldt’s boys, host Eureka turned a 14-11 deficit into a 31-25 halftime lead that swelled to 55-38 by the end of the third quarter.
By the time the dust settled on Eureka’s 64-46 victory, Humboldt head coach David Taylor saw room for improvement and some encouraging signs.
“We did some good things early,” he said, but noted Humboldt’s inexperience likely played a role in the mid-game swoon.
“We played hard, but we’re gonna struggle a bit,” Taylor said.
Turnovers (32) and cold shooting (35%) also played a significant role, Taylor said, as did the performance of Eureka’s Blake Rucker, who poured in 30 points on an array of drives to the hoop and outside shooting to lead the Tornadoes.
Humboldt’s Gavin Page led the Cubs with 16 points and four rebounds, while Trey Sommer added seven points and 10 rebounds. Drew Wilhite added three assists and three steals. Thane Meadows pulled in four boards as well.
“I thought Gavin Page had a nice game for us,” Taylor said.
HUMBOLDT’S girls led 6-4 after one period and 10-9 midway through the second quarter when things went cold.
Very cold.
Eureka scored the next 34 points over the 15 minutes or so of game time.
With less than 6 minutes left in the game, Jada Dangerfield’s basket ended Humboldt’s scoring drought in a 50-14 defeat.
Dangerfield and Jessica Myers shared Humboldt’s scoring lead with six points apiece.
Ava Perrier scored 13 to lead Eureka.
