Humboldt High was able to push aside the sting of disappointment Thursday.
Two days prior, the Cubs were looking for answers after a 17-point loss to Crest in the first round of the War on 54 Tournament in Iola.
Thursday was another story.
Humboldt put together a 22-0 run spanning the entire second quarter against Yates Center and never looked back in a 70-16 win.
Cub head coach David Taylor noted Humboldt had a decided advantage in terms of personnel.
That said, “I was pleased with how we were doing what we were supposed to do,” he said. “The kids played hard the whole game.”
Yates Center head coach Lane Huffman noted the Wildcats were able to play with the older, more experienced and more talented Humboldt squad for much of the first quarter.
“For the first four minutes, we showed we can play with anybody,” he said. “But they started hitting shots, and we didn’t handle adversity very well. Rather than keep doing what we had been, we fell back into our old habits and started hanging our heads.”
Sam Hull led the way for Humboldt with 23 on 9 of 12 shooting,including another thunderous dunk midway through the third quarter. He also had five steals. Avery Works came off the bench to score 13 points with six rebounds and five assists.
Asher Hart and Colden Cook scored nine points apiece. Keith Gomez chipped in with eight.
Devereaux Sarchet scored nine to pace Yates Center.
Huffman noted Yates Center’s squad is still developing a mentality that it can compete with schools such as Humboldt.
“We’re playing four freshmen and starting two of them,” he said. “They’re getting thrown into the fire, but they’re handling it well. It’s a building thing.”
Humboldt played St. Paul in Friday’s fifth-place game, while Yates Center wrapped up its tournament in the seventh-place game against Cherryvale.
Friday’s results were not available by deadline.
