MORAN — Humboldt High’s boys made quick work of their hosts from Marmaton Valley Tuesday.
The Cubs raced to a 19-4 lead after one quarter, then followed that up with a 28-4 run in the second period.
The second half was more of the same as Humboldt emerged with a 69-13 victory.
“We had real good effort tonight,” Humboldt head coach David Taylor said, “and we were able to get some minutes for our younger kids.”
Wildcat head coach Gavin Cole, conversely, has noted his young, undermanned squad has been a work in progress this season.
“We’ve been getting better, but tonight was a step in the wrong direction,” Cole said. “Our effort level was unacceptable, completely.”
Marmaton Valley started the game with consecutive steals on Humboldt’s first two possessions, but the Cubs quickly settled down on offense, and amped up some defensive pressure on its own.
“We let our mistakes snowball,” Cole said. “One mistake led to another, which led to another. We’d turn the ball over and then hang our heads instead of hustling back.
“My expectations are about how hard you play,” he continued. “You can’t always control if shots go in, but there are a lot of things you can control, so you better do the things you can control every night.”
Still, Cole is hopeful his young Wildcats will learn from Tuesday’s loss.
“We’ve got the opportunity in front of us to get better,” Cole said. “We didn’t show up to play tonight, and that’s on me, the coach. I’ve gotta prepare and get them ready to do more than I did tonight.”
It won’t be easy. Marmaton Valley next travels to Humboldt to take on Iola, a decidedly bigger, and significantly more experienced squad.
“We get the opportunity to see how we’re going to respond,” Cole said, noting none of Marmaton Valley’s remaining opponents after Thursday will have the talent level and size Iola possesses.
Drew Wilhite scored 17 with five assists and four steals, while Trey Sommer scored 12 to lead the Cubs. Unofficially, Sommer also had eight rebounds, as did Gavin Page.
Quincy Adams scored nine for Marmaton Valley.
Humboldt’s next tournament game will be at home Thursday against St. Paul.
