In the season’s first South Central Association game, the Houston High School boys basketball team lost 52-36 last Thursday at Thayer.
HHS head coach Rod Gorman said the Tigers fought hard from beginning to end, but simply couldn’t get the ball in the basket enough.
“We played pretty well and competed hard,” Gorman said. “We had a size advantage, but we weren’t able to get the ball inside enough and struggled to get the ball where we needed to for the guys to score it.”
Sophomore forward Korbyn Tune was the only Houston player to score in double figures with 10 points. Senior guard Clayton Moore sank three 3-pointers in the contest and had 9 points, while junior forward Ty Franklin added 5.
Three Thayer players scored in double figures in the contest, as sophomore Jordan Andrews had 16 points (including 8 in the first quarter), sophomore Gaige Pitts had 14 and junior Logan Doss added 11.
“It’s a tough place to play against a good team,” Gorman said. “They have a great program, great tradition and they’re well coached. But it was a very competitive game and hard fought. We just didn’t score much.”
While being guarded by Thayer junior Chris Cray, HHS sophomore forward Korbyn Tune tries to post up on the offensive end of the floor during last Friday’s SCA road game.
On Tuesday of last week, the Tigers won a nonconference road game at Norwood, 54-40.
Moore connected on three treys in the first half and scored a game-high 22 points, while Franklin scored 11 points in the second half and finished with 13.
“We shot the ball really well, and we defended well and rebounded well,” Gorman said. “But we had too many turnovers; we had a little cushion and could have extended that cushion if we hadn’t turned the ball over.”
The Tigers’ only game this week is a non-conference contest Friday (Jan. 24) at Laquey.
Next week, Houston (7-7, 0-1 SCA) will be in the eight-team field at the annual Conway Invitational Tournament, taking on Aurora in a first-round game on Tuesday (Jan. 28).
“We’re healthy and we’re actually playing pretty good for where we’re at,” Gorman said.
HHS head coach Rod Gorman calls out to his players last Friday at Thayer.
As the all-important district tournament in late February approaches, Gorman and his players have their sights set on a strong run in the weeks ahead.
“We’re fighting to get a decent seed in that,” Gorman said. “That’s what we’re trying to do.”