WELLSVILLE — Any hopes of advancing in the Class 3A substate bracket were stymied Thursday evening for the Humboldt Cubs, under the suffocating press of the Wellsville Eagles.
The Cubs were eliminated from tournament play 60-41.
“We just didn’t handle the pressure. We haven’t seen pressure like that this year,” head coach David Taylor said.
Wellsville’s home arena was packed from the get-go, and the rowdy fans did nothing but add to the mountain the Cubs had to climb. Nevertheless, they held close for as long as they could.
Cole Silsby struck early for the Eagles, with back-to-back jumpers, before Hunter Murrow responded with a driving layup for the Cubs. Markiz Pulliam contributed another down low, tying the game at four-all midway through the first.
The Eagles’ Shamus Kearney nailed a trey, before Robbie Sellman and Caleb D’Armond helped the Cubs to bounce back, giving them their only lead of the game, 10-9, with one minute remaining in the first. The Eagles held a 12-10 advantage going into the second.
That pressure coach Taylor was talking about? It hit in the second.
“We never got into any rhythm (offensively),” Taylor said.
The Eagles’ defense kept the Cubs’ outside shooting to a minimum — a facet they’ve relied on for a significant portion of the season. Kason Siemens, who normally contributes multiple treys per game, came away with only two points on a pair of charity shots.
Meanwhile, Kearney and Carter Mann came alive for Wellsville. They broke the game wide open from inside and outside, as the home team crowd was roused to its feet as the first half ended 30-22 Wellsville.
From that point forward, the Cubs never came close. Luke Meyer joined in on the scoring onslaught in the third, along with his teammates, to increase Humboldt’s deficit to 21, 48-27, going into the finale.
Murrow led the Cubs offensively, with 15 points and eight rebounds, the only Humboldt player in double digits. Caleb Vanatta, Caleb D’Armond and Justin Meins had four apiece. Meins and Pulliam added five and four rebounds. Meins had two steals and two assists.
Mann had the Eagles’ top score with 22, followed by Silsby with 15.
Despite the loss, Taylor had nothing but high regards for his team — understandable to say the least, they finished with an 18-4 record on the season, playing in one of the toughest substate brackets in the state, he said.
“I felt like they’ve overachieved this season,” he said. “It’s not just the seniors, it’s everybody.
“I think I’ve enjoyed being around these guys more than anything,” he continued. “I’ve looked forward to coming to practice every day just to be around them. They’re the kind of face you want for a program; they’re exceptional young men.”
Humboldt 10-12-5-14—41
Wellsville 12-18-18-12—60
Humboldt (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Vanatta 2-0-3-4, H. Murrow 5/1-2-1-15, Carpenter 1-1-2-3, A. Murrow 1-0-2-2, Sellman 1-0-1-2, D’Armond 0-4-1-4, Meins 2-0-2-4, Pulliam 2-1-4-5, Siemens 0-2-0-2. TOTALS: 14/1-10-16-41.
Wellsville (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Breithaupt 0-0-2-0, Silsby 6/1-0-2-15, Gretencord, 0-0-1-0, Kearney 2/1-1-2-8, Mann 6/4-2-4-22, Meyer 4-1-5-9, Klamm 2-0-2-4, Powelson 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 19/6-4-18-60.
Wellsville ousts Cubs in 3A substate
