While hosting the third annual Houston Community Foundation Varsity Boys Basketball Tournament last week in Tiger Fieldhouse, the Houston High School squad of the fell to Cabool, 58-26, in a first round game last Thursday, and was then defeated by Fordland, 60-54, in a consolation game on Friday.
Seeded second in the event’s 8-team field, Cabool came into the first round contest with a roster including 8 seniors, a junior and a sophomore. The Bulldogs quickly imposed their will, running away to an 8-0 lead at the outset and holding advantages of 16-2 at the end of the first quarter and 30-11 at halftime.
Cabool’s switching zone defense caused problems for the seventh-seeded Tigers, who found it hard to find ways to score from close range and missed numerous shots from the outside, and were held to single-digits in scoring in all four quarters.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs went 14-for-16 from the foul line in the game, while Houston didn’t shoot a free throw.
Senior forward Stone Jackson sank two 3-pointers and scored 8 points for the Tigers, while junior guard Jordan Arthur connected on four 2-point field goals and also finished with 8.
Three players scored in double-figures for Cabool. Senior forward Aceton Gonzales led the way with 18 points, while senior guard Trey Atkins had 14 and senior forward Tyler Fleetwood added 11.
“I didn’t like the fact we were not able to practice for four days because of the weather entering the tournament,” said HHS head coach Jim Moore. “We hadn’t played since January second and were obviously rusty. We didn’t shoot the ball very well, but I thought our defense was adequate, with the exception of not rebounding the ball. We have to continue to improve in that department.”
The matchup with sixth-seeded Fordland was a tightly-contested affair, with the Tigers leading 16-15 at the end of the first quarter and the Eagles ahead 28-27 at halftime.
Arthur led Houston in scoring in the game with 17 points (including 8 in the fourth quarter), while sophomore guard DJ Riley had 12 (including 7 in the second quarter) and senior forward Brady Brookshire added 11.
Fordland sophomore guard Matt Hart poured in 15 points in the second half and finished with 22 to lead all scorers in the game, while sophomore Luke Waterman had 16 points and senior Isaac Vickers added 13.
The Tigers went 10-for-16 from the free throw line and sank four 3-pointers in the contest, while the Eagles went 12-for-19 from the stripe and also hit four treys.
“I thought we competed hard,” Moore said. “We had a solid game plan and our kids executed it. We missed too many 2-foot easy shots; it’s hard to win at the varsity level when you don’t finish at the rim.”
This week, the Tigers (1-11 through last week) host Laquey on Tuesday, begin the South Central Association conference portion of their schedule with a Thursday home game against Salem, and then travel to Bourbon on Friday. Houston continues SCA play next week with road games Tuesday at Mountain Grove and Friday at Thayer.
“We are improving,” Moore said. “We just aren’t there yet, but we’re staying the course and we will get there.”
Houston Community Foundation Varsity Boys Basketball Tournament
SCOREBOARD
Thursday
(1) Bakersfield 88, (8) Koshkonong 30
(2) Cabool 58, (7) Houston 26
(3) Salem 71, (6) Fordland 60
(5) Summersville 66, (4) Couch 61
Friday
Bakersfield 62, Summersville 57
Cabool 62, Salem 49
Couch 68, Koshkonong 22
Fordland 60, Houston 54
Saturday
Consolation final: Couch 77, Fordland 52
Third-place: Salem 79, Summersville 59
Championship: Bakersfield 65, Cabool 58
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Ethan Cotter – Bakersfield (MVP)
Morris Collins – Bakersfield
Josh Shockley – Cabool
Trey Atkins – Cabool
Tre Richter – Salem
Lance Morey – Couch
Isaac Vickers – Fordland
Andrew Buschman – Summersville
