HUMBOLDT — Humboldt High’s boys didn’t need much of a reminder about the dangers visiting Crest High posed Thursday.
The last time the teams played, in January at the War on 54 Tournament, the Lancers ran their offense to perfection, while Humboldt struggled mightily on offense as Crest won by 17.
The Cubs were intent on not seeing a repeat.
“They do such a great job with their offense, and you can’t get stagnant against them,” Taylor noted.
Message received.
Humboldt led from the outset, busting out to an 18-8 lead in Thursday’s Humboldt Preseason Tournament semifinal.
The Lancers rallied, closing the gap to within three, but a 3-pointer from Humboldt’s Tre Franklin and two more from Blake Ellis helped put the Cubs safely in front.
Humboldt’s interior took over from there as the Cubs cruised to a 61-33 victory.
Both teams wrapped up tournament play Friday, with Crest taking on West Elk and Humboldt hosting Erie. Because those games were not complete by press time, look for results on iolaregister.com.
Taylor said Humboldt’s defensive intensity, and the team’s ability to hit shots, made the difference.
“I thought in the first half, they played harder on defense than we were on offense,” Taylor said. “You have to play hard against them all the time.”
“They’re just so fast and athletic,” Crest head coach Dakotah Sporing said, singling out Humboldt senior Colden Cook. “He’s an animal. He’s bigger than our big guys, and he’s faster than our fast guys.”
But the Cubs are much more than a one-man show, with four players scoring in double figures. Ellis and Franklin led the way with 14 points apiece, followed by Franklin with 12 and Cook with 11.
“I was happy to see Blake hit those shots,” Taylor said. “And Mason had another solid night. And Tre (a transfer from El Dorado) has been with our program for all of three weeks. He’s going to continue getting better and better.”
“I’m not upset about this game,” Sporing said. “We executed and played with energy. We just missed some shots and got a little tired at the end. The game was more competitive than the final score would indicate.”
