HUMBOLDT Humboldts erratic and inconsistent play in Monday nights 78-50 blowout win over Cherokee-Southeast in the Class 2A Sub-State opener brought a certain monster of book and screen to the mind of Cub head coach Dave Taylor.
We didnt play as well at times as were capable of, Taylor said. And it has nothing to do with effort. It just has to do with locking it in. We have a hard time with that sometimes. In the first half, we were locked in and in the second half we werent. Its been like Jekyll and Hyde this whole year. We can really be our own worst enemy when we want to be.
The veteran coachs comparison was apt. The Strange Case of the Humboldt Cubs was on display for all to see Monday night.
In the first half, the good Dr. Jekyll-Cubs easily outclassed the visiting Lancers. Defensively, they were smothering and offensively, they either nailed good shots or found themselves in an easy position for a rebound and put-back.
The Jekyll Cubs led by 20 by the end of the first quarter and stayed through the second, stretching their lead to 28 by the half.
Despite the near-30 point lead, Taylor feared for the worst. He could feel the other side of his team begging to get out and so he pleaded with them at the half to stay their current course.
Our whole conversation in the locker room at halftime was about not losing focus, Taylor said. We wanted them to use the second half to prepare for the next game. Games are better than practice, you cant simulate real in-game minutes.
But try as they might, when Mr. Hyde wants to come out, theres not a thing anyone can do.
Suddenly, a team that grabbed that 30-point lead with seven and a half minutes to play got sloppy in the quarter. Easy buckets were missed, bad passes were thrown and the Lancers were getting open looks at the basket that the Cubs werent allowing throughout the first 16 minutes.
We just lost our focus, Taylor said. Period. We werent working on defense when the ball got over half court. We got lazy and we were inconsistent on offense. We couldnt find a rhythm.
The Mr. Hyde-Cubs had taken over. An 18-2 Southeast-Cherokee run saw the Lancers get within 14 points.
The only cure for what was turning into an utter collaspe came in the form of a 9-0 Cub run. Senior Caleb Coronado, who led all scorers with 18, hit a three to stop the Lancer run and junior Isiah Coronado followed right behind with a three of his own. Isaiah trailed right behind Caleb Monday night with 17 points.
And so the threes proved to be enough to push back the Hyde-Cubs and bring the Jekyll-Cubs back into the light to finish out the final quarter.
Humboldt wasnt as incredible during the fourth quarter as they were during the first half, but you could tell that the Cubs were back to doing the little things, especially on defense, that help this team succeed.
Our defense sparks our offense, Taylor said. When we start doing good things on defense, youll notice our offense starts clicking. When we arent, we start doing stuff like missing lay-ups and bad passes. Defense and rebounding are the only two things you can control and we preach that.
In addition to the two Coronados, junior Conor Haviland had 14 and senior Bo Bigelow and 12.