EUREKA — The Humboldt Cubs returned home with a few wins after downing the Eureka Tornadoes on the road Tuesday night.
The Humboldt Middle School A-Team wrapped up the evening with a nailbiter after downing Eureka 40-38 off a jumper by Elijah Irby with 43 seconds left in regulation.
“This was the kind of game that makes us better basketball players. It was a battle,” Humboldt coach Jeremy Weilert said. “Eureka had leads of 5, 6 and 7 points. Each time we battled back to get within two and we took the lead once in the second quarter, but Eureka took the lead on their next possession.”
Although Irby had the game-winning shot, it was Tate Thomas who had a team-leading 18 points, as well as tying Irby and Waylon Johnson for the team lead in rebounds with eight each. Irby was second in scoring with 14 points, followed by Johnson with 6 and Nate Froggatte with a bucket.
“Tate Thomas played his best game of the season. He had 18 points on 8-15 shooting,” Coach Weilert said. “Elijah Irby was big in the paint. He hit some big jumpers to get us going, had five blocked shots, and his game winner was huge. Waylon Johnson’s eight rebounds and three blocked shots were also big.”
The B-Team won, 23-16, thanks to a slew of Cubs getting into the action. Lane Newman scored a team-leading 7 points, followed by Mason Mueller with six, then Aaron Wille and Ryker Wrestler with a pair of buckets each. Willie had a team-leading six rebounds, followed by Kamrin Wooden with five boards and Mueller with three.
The C-Team represented Humboldt’s only loss of the evening, 23-16, after their fourth-quarter rally fell short. Ryker Wrestler had a team-leading five points, followed by Orval LeClair with four, Marcus Whitcomb with a 3-pointer, then Charles Fink and Sawyer Robinson with a bucket each.
