HUMBOLDT — Sometimes it is the size of the dog in the fight.
Humboldt High’s Cubs had no answers for the inside presence offered by the Pittsburg St. Mary’s-Colgan basketball squad Monday.
The Cubs made several charges down the stretch, but could draw no closer than five in a 55-45 defeat.
The loss ends Humboldt’s season in the Class 2A Substate Quarterfinals with an 11-10 record.
“Their big kids were probably the deciding factor,” Humboldt head coach David Taylor said, pointing to Colgan junior Nicholas Ison, who repeatedly bullied his way inside for easy scoring opportunities.
And then, when the Panthers weren’t hitting, their post players were able to secure several key offensive rebounds for second-chance points. Colgan limited Humboldt to eight rebounds on the night.
Isom scored 13 of Colgan’s first 23 points, including a three-point play early in the second quarter for a 20-8 Panther advantage.
The Cubs responded in earnest coming out of halftime.
Levi McGowen’s field goal to start the third quarter was followed by layups by Drew Wilhite and Trey Sommer to pull the Cubs within four, 25-21.
Isom responded with another three-point lay at the 4:25 mark before teammate Jalen VanBecelaere followed with consecutive field goals to push the Panther lead back to double digits at 34-23.
Sommer and Wilhite both scored for Humboldt, and Levi McGowen’s 3-pointer closed the gap to 48-43. But by then, VanBecelaere was in full attack mode for Colgan.
He scored 10 straight Panther points down the stretch, capped by a steal and layup with 50 seconds remaining to push the Panthers up 54-45.
“His getting to the basket hurt us,” Taylor said.
Nevertheless, Humboldt’s player can take pride in their performance, Taylor said.
“I feel a lot better about them tonight than I did last week,” Taylor said. “We didn’t have a very good week last week.”
