The Houston Tigers turned up the defensive pressure to get their season back on track. A career night from Kyle Poynter didn’t hurt, either.
The Tigers suffocated Alton with their fullcourt pressure, and Poynter poured in a career-high 38 points as Houston cruised to a 69-36 victory Monday night.
The win snapped a two-game losing skid for the Tigers (2-3), who dropped a close decision Thursday night against unbeaten Strafford and were defeated Friday at Plato.
“We’re five games into the season and still trying to find ourselves,” Houston coach Brent Hall said. “We haven’t clicked yet. I think when we do, we’ll be really tough. In the meantime, we struggle.”
There were hardly any struggles against the Comets.
Houston scored 11 of the game’s first 13 points, then poured in 27 second-quarter points for a commanding halftime lead. The turbo clock rolled most of the second half as the Tigers built a 40-point advantage.
Hall, who watched Alton struggle against fullcourt pressure earlier in the season at the Van Buren Tournament, installed a trapping defense at Monday morning’s shootaround. The Tigers used their trapping defense to create turnovers and easy scoring opportunities.
“We thought it would be effective against them, and obviously it was,” Hall said.
Poynter did a bulk of the offensive damage, hitting four 3-pointers and making 14 of his 16 free throws en route to a big offensive night. Junior Jesse Setters hit a pair of triples and scored 12 points as the only other Tiger in double figures.
After Alton scored the game’s first points, the Tigers rattled off 11 unanswered for a lead they never relinquished. Poynter hit a pair of triples during the spurt.
Setters opened the second quarter with a triple, and Poynter 10 points as Houston went on a 15-0 run to go ahead 30-10.
Jake Scheets’ layin with 12 seconds left in the half put the Tigers ahead 42-16.
“We’ve been sweating bullets every game but this one. It was nice to get up early, get the kids a little relaxed and be on the good end of one for a change,” Hall said.
On Thursday, Poynter had 20 points and forward Ty Scheets scored 14 of his season-high 16 points in the second half of a 52-48 loss to Strafford.
The Tigers had made six more field goals than Strafford (6-0), but missed six of their 10 free throws. Strafford was 16-for-20 at the foul line.
The following night, Plato’s Blake Kimrey scored 31 points as the Tigers were dealt a 62-52 loss.
Poynter scored 15 points and Scheets had 14 for Houston.
Monday’s score
Alton 10 4 8 12 – 36
Houston 15 27 21 6 – 69
ALTON – Crews 1 0-1 2. Tackitt 4 4-6 12. Thompson 2 1-2 6. Peace 1 0-0 2. TThompson 1 0-3 2. Neldon 2 4-4 8. Brill 1 1-2 4. Totals 12 10-18 36.
HOUSTON (2-3) – Weybright 0 4-6 4. Buchholz 0 0-2 0. KyPoynter 10 14-16 38. Setters 4 2-2 12. Barker 2 0-0 4. O’Neil 1 3-4 5. Van Horn 1 0-0 2. JScheets 1 0-0 2. TScheets 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 23-30 69.
3-pointers: Alton 1 (Brill); Houston 6 (KyPoynter 4, Setters 2).
Friday’s score
Houston 11 15 14 12 – 52
Plato 14 20 11 17 – 62
HOUSTON (1-3) – Weybright 3 3-5 10. KyPoynter 3 9-10 15. Setters 3 0-0 7. Barker 1 0-1 2. O’Neil 2 0-1 4. TScheets 7 0-0 14. Totals 19 12-17 52.
PLATO – LaJustice 0 1-2 1. Wood 5 1-2 11. Garner 1 0-2 2. Hall 3 2-2 8. Kimrey 10 10-12 31. Utley 2 0-0 4. McNiel 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 14-20 62.
3-pointers: Houston 2 (Weybright, Setters); Plato 1 (Kimrey).
Thursday’s score
Strafford 9 15 12 16 – 52
Houston 9 12 10 17 – 48
STRAFFORD (6-0) – Yarberry 6 7-8 21. Triplett 0 1-2 1. DWilson 2 3-5 7. Baker 2 0-0 4. CWilson 4 5-5 14. Totals 14 16-20 52.
HOUSTON (1-2) – Weybright 2 0-4 4. KyPoynter 9 2-2 20. Barker 1 0-0 2. O’Neil 1 0-0 2. TScheets 7 2-4 16. Totals 20 4-10 48.
3-pointers: Strafford 3 (Yarberry 2, CWilson); Houston 2 (KyPoynter 2).