HUMBOLDT — Crest High’s Tyson Hermreck had an eventful first half Thursday in Humboldt.
The Lancer senior beat the first-quarter buzzer with a 3-pointer from near half court. He nearly repeated the feat at halftime, except he was fouled and the shot bounced off the rim. (He subsequently hit all three free throws.)
Problem was, those shots provided nearly the entirety of the Lancer offense to that point, with Humboldt leading 27-8 lead at the break.
“We just could not buy a bucket,” Crest head coach Travis Hermreck said.
The Cubs had more than a little to do with it. Humboldt’s stingy defense was the key factor in a 54-29 victory, coming in the second round of Humboldt’s preseason tournament.
The Cubs (2-1) wrapped up round-robin tournament play Friday against Erie, while Crest (0-3) took on Uniontown. Results will be in Monday’s Register.
“I was really pleased with our defense,” Humboldt head coach David Taylor said. “Our rebounding was pretty good, too. That was a major focus. We wanted to make it one-shot-and-out.”
After scuffling a bit of its own on offense, Humboldt began to take control late in the first quarter. Junior Drew Wilhite drilled a 3-pointer at the 1-minute mark of the quarter, followed by a pair of free throws from classmate Gavin Page as the Cubs pushed out to an 11-2 lead.
Hermreck’s buzzer-beating trey trimmed the deficit to 11-5.
Humboldt responded with a 16-0 run through much of the second quarter. Sophomore Trey Sommer connected twice in a row late in the quarter to push the lead to 24-5. Drake Harrington was next, and Thane Meadows hit the second of two charities to put Humboldt on top, 27-5.
After Hemreck ended the half with his three charities, the Lancers started the second half with a bit of a jolt.
Ethan Prasko and Keaton Davis scored on back-to-back possessions to cut the gap to 27-12, but Humboldt responded once again with a quick six-point burst to snuff any hopes of a comeback.
The lead teetered at the 25-point margin for the duration of the game.
“We had good intensity, and did a good job of pressuring the ball,” Taylor said. “We did a better job in transition because we were trying to do it by pushing it with a pass, instead of trying to dribble it up. Obviously, that’s the best we’ve played so far. I’m very pleased.”
Hermreck, too, credited his players for maintaining their intensity despite their halftime offensive slump.
“It’s pretty disheartening,” he said. “You’re busting your butt on defense, and you feel like you’re playing well. But they get a couple of breaks, and no matter what shot you get, it bounces out. But that’s the game of basketball.
