HUMBOLDT — For Monday’s first round playoff game against Central Heights, the goals were simple; survive and advance.
That is just what the Cubs did, winning 62-47.
“I’m happy for the boys,” Humboldt coach David Taylor said. “Usually this is the toughest game, getting through the first one and making sure they play to win and no, not to lose.”
The game was not a run-of-the-mill one-seed versus eight-seed matchup for the favored Cubs. Humboldt (17-4) had faced the 3-win Central Heights earlier this season and the Vikings pushed them to overtime before the Cubs eventually pulled away with the win in the extra session.
“We knew what we were getting into,” Taylor said.
The rematch appeared to be the same type of nip-and-tuck game through the first half. After Humboldt jumped to an early 9-2 lead, the Vikings charged back and ended the first quarter trailing just 9-8.
“(Central Heights) is very good defensively,” Taylor said. “They played good half-court man defense and they clogged a lot of things up in the paint. I don’t know if we took a lot of shots in rhythm.”
Humboldt held just a two-point lead as they went into the locker room for halftime and Central Heights tied the game at 23 early in the third quarter.
“Coach told us (at halftime), ‘You guys are nervous. You just need to relax. This is going to be the toughest game you are going to play in the tournament because it’s on a Monday. Just go out there and have fun.’ And that is what we did,” Cub senior Jake Haviland said.
“I told the boys, we got to just keep plugging away,” Taylor said.
The teams went back-and-forth until junior star Rayce Hoepker stepped up with a pair of huge plays with the game tied at 27. Hoepker drove the lane on the first play and shot a runner while taking contact from a Viking defender.
Whistles drew as Hoepker’s shot fell through the net. The guard stepped to the charity stripe and knocked down his foul shot to push the lead to three.
“That was big,” Taylor said.
After Humboldt got a stop on the ensuing Central Heights possession, Hoepker pulled up for a deep 3-pointer and just like that the Cubs were up by six. Hoepker scored 17 points in the game despite a slow first half shooting the ball.
Hoepker’s personal scoring streak gave the Cubs the lead for good and they never allowed Central Heights to tie the game or hold a lead again.
Humboldt built the lead up to nine points by the end of the third quarter. Haviland had nine of his game-high 27 points in the period.
