Robert James’ first victory at Houston High School was an impressive one.
The seventh-seeded Tigers rallied from an early deficit and upset No. 2 Norwood 59-54 Tuesday night in the opening round of the Mansfield Invitational.
Senior Dylan Coulter scored a career-best 20 points to lead Houston (1-3) to its first win of the season and first for James. Kobe Sutton hit three triples en route to 17 points, and Lucas Kelley added 10.
“We have been talking about trying to put together four quarters,” James said. Â We have played good in stretches so far this season, but have had too many breakdowns on both ends often in the second half. Against Norwood we found a way to overcome some breakdowns and find a way to get the win.”
Max Malone led four Norwood players in double figures with 22 points.Â
Trailing 12-7 after the opening quarter, HHS pulled ahead 26-24 at the half. The game was tied 39-all entering the fourth quarter.
Coulter, who was 7-for-11 from the field and had three steals, scored 10 of the Tigers’ 20 points in the final quarter to lead the upset victory.
“Dylan had a great game on both ends,” James said. “A balanced attack with different players stepping up when given the chance is something that we have to continue if we want to be good basketball team.”
Houston faces third-seeded Mansfield at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
BOX SCORE
Houston  7  19  13  20  –  59
Norwood  12  12  15  15  –  54
HOUSTON (59) – Nathan Poynter 5. Dylan Coulter 20. Lucas Kelley 10. Kobe Sutton 17. Skylur Malam 7. FG 18. FT 13-18. F 19. (3-pointers: Sutton 3, Coulter 2, Malam 2. Fouled out: Kelley, Keegan Spurlin).