In a tale of two very different halves, the Houston High School boys basketball team was defeated by Norwood, 73-38, Tuesday night in Tiger Fieldhouse.
Houston actually held a brief lead early in the first quarter after senior Zeke Grange buried a 3-pointer to put the Tigers ahead 3-2.
As the visiting Pirates were ice cold from the field during the entire period, Houston stayed within shouting distance and trailed 20-15 going into the second quarter.
But with the Tigers struggling to deal with Norwood’s active defense and committing numerous turnovers, the margin grew to 43-28 by halftime. Then the wheels came off for Houston, as the Pirates scored 20 unanswered points at the outset of the third quarter and ended up outscoring their hosts 27-3 in the period.
Norwood dominated the boards and scored prolifically from the inside and outside throughout the game. Junior Carder Kelly nailed four treys and led the Pirates’ balanced scoring attack with 20 points, while senior Noah Drake had 14 and junior Andrew Bradshaw added 10.
Senior guard Jordan Arthur scored 14 points for Houston, while senior center Brody Adkison had 6. Senior guard Nick Dennis and junior guard DJ Riley each added 5 points for the Tigers.
The deep and experienced Pirates (with a roster featuring six seniors and four juniors) came into the contest as the top-ranked team in the latest Missouri Class 2 poll, and the victory improved their record to 14-1.
The Tigers fell to 2-8 on the season and will travel to Willow Springs on Friday (Jan. 17) for their first South Central Association matchup of the season.
Next week, the fourth annual Houston Community Foundation Varsity Boys Basketball Tournament will take place in Tiger Fieldhouse. The Tigers are seeded fifth in the 8-team bracket and will face No. 4 Fordland in a first round game on Monday (Jan. 20).
