ERIE — In a showdown of powerful post players, Humboldt High’s duo of Colden Cook and Sam Hull were more than enough to thwart Erie standout Ethan Dillinger Friday.
Cook’s monster night of 27 points and nine rebounds was accentuated by Hull’s 17 points and nine boards.
Just as importantly, Cub head coach David Taylor said, was Cook’s defense against Dillinger, particularly in the second half, as Humboldt ended the game on a 16-3 run to win, 53-42.
The victory lifts Humboldt to 11-2 on the season.
“Colden really did a nice job in the second half,” Taylor said. Dillinger, who scored 10 points over the first two quarters, was held scoreless after the break.
Humboldt led, 16-10, after one quarter before Erie bounced back with some hot shooting in the third quarter. The Red Devils drained four treys in the period to take a 40-36 lead.
But Cook took over down the stretch, scoring nine of Humboldt’s 16.
“Our interior passing was very good,” Taylor said. “Sam set Colden up for some easy buckets, and Colden did the same for Sam.”
Hull added five assists and three steals. Logan Page also had three steals.
“We had a pretty good week of practice,” Taylor said. “Really, all night the kids ran exactly what we wanted them to run, particularly in terms of how we wanted to attack their zone. And the kids did a good job of adjusting defensively in the second half.”
Humboldt travels to Eureka Tuesday before hosting Caney Valley Friday, the Cubs’ first home game since Dec. 15.
FG/3pt FT F TP
Humbooldt (16-9-11-16—52)
Sterling 1 0 1 2
Ellis 0 0 1 0
Hull 8 1 1 17
Works 0 0 1 0
Page 1/1 1 1 6
Hart 0 0 2 0
Cook 11 5 3 27
Totals 21/1 7 11 52
Erie (10-13-17-3—43)
Dillinger 2/2 0 3 10
Richenburg 2/3 1 0 14
Duff 4/2 3 3 17
Reissig 1 0 3 2
Totals 9/7 4 9 43
