CHERRYVALE — Dominating Friday’s tilt from the get-go, the Humboldt Cubs boys took down the Cherryvale Chargers on the road, 52-12.
Friday’s win came 24 hours removed from their first loss of the season — a 48-46 defeat to St. Mary’s Colgan where the Cubs surrendered a late lead.
“It was free throws, free throws, free throws,” Humboldt head coach Dave Taylor said. “And we played not to lose instead of playing to win.”
Taylor cited Humboldt’s edge in age as critical in Friday’s triumph over the onewin Chargers.
“They had a lot of young kids,” Taylor said. “And we have a lot of seniors. We defended well in the halfcourt. We haven’t gotten a chance to press much but we got to a little tonight.”
While Cherryvale managed just a dozen points, the Chargers’ defense limited the Cubs to the fewest points in a win all season.
“We did some good stuff defensively,” Cherryvale head coach Scott John said. “We were outmatched. They’re a big team and athletic. But we did some good stuff.”
Blake Ellis led Humboldt with 13 points while Landon Fox led Cherryvale with six.
“I could see some of the hangover from last night,” Taylor said. “We’ve played better than what we showed tonight. But I was glad our kids fought through it.”
John defended Chargers, who dropped to 1-6 and are in the midst of a massive rebuild, and compelled more support from the crowd.
“Here’s what I’ll say. I don’t care what school you’re at,” John said. “It’s hard to build a program without community support. Did you see the crowd after the girls’ game? The kids notice it. Nobody wants to stay and watch us.”
Humboldt improved to 8-1 overall with the win.
Up next
Cherryvale and Humboldt both start the War on 54 tournament in Iola on Tuesday.
Humboldt faces St. Paul on Tuesday.
“Last year, we dropped the ball there and didn’t get on the right side of the bracket,” Taylor said. “Hopefully, we do what we need to do so we can get better. Wins are fine and dandy. But we need to keep working to get where we want to go.”
Cherryvale takes on Anderson County.
“I just want to go compete,” John said. “I want to get into a dogfight with somebody and see what these kids are made of.”
