In the process of playing three nonconference games last week, the Houston High School boys basketball team won for the fifth time this season, routing Bourbon 83-40 Friday in Tiger Fieldhouse.
Houston also traveled to Laquey on Tuesday and fell 59-40, and then sustained a 74-67 defeat in overtime Thursday at Newburg.
The Tigers wasted little time taking charge against Bourbon, leading 23-6 at the end of the first quarter and 48-17 at halftime. The visiting Warhawks held their own in the third period, but Houston outscored them 18-5 in the fourth.
Before the game, head coach Dan Narancich talked to the Tigers about playing with the right mindset against the 2-win Bourbon squad.
“This game was not coming down to physical strength or endurance, it was going to come down to mindset,” Narancich said. “Will we be able to stay hungry and play our type of basketball? Will we ignite that fire and keep it burning all four quarters, not basing our level of energy off the other team or the crowd?
“We partially stayed in the right mindset throughout the game, but it was not the level I wanted us to be playing at. It could have been that we played two games already that week, and if that’s the case we need to work on our endurance. It could have also come down to the amount of sickness that’s going around.”
Senior Jordan Arthur led the Tigers in scoring in the contest with 27 points. The athletic guard put on a transition clinic in the fourth quarter, converting 7 buckets on fast breaks. Junior guard DJ Riley scored 25 points for Houston (including 16 in the first half), while senior guard Caden Root had 9 and senior guard Nick Dennis added 7.
Senior center Titus Nolie led Bourbon (2-12) in scoring with 20 points, while senior forward Toran Leach had 7.
The Tigers scored a whopping 45 points in transition in the game, compared to only 4 for the Warhawks. Houston also scored 66 points in the paint and tallied 45 points off of turnovers, while Bourbon had only 24 points in the paint and 15 off of turnovers.
OT ABSENCE
At Newburg, Houston trailed 51-43 after three quarters, but came storming back in the fourth period to force overtime. But the host Wolves then held the Tigers scoreless in the extra session while adding 7 points themselves.
Arthur led Houston in scoring with 29 points, drilling three 3-pointers and pouring in 16 points during the fourth quarter rally. Riley was the only other player to score in double figures for the Tigers with 19 points, while also recording a team-high 5 assists.
Newburg (6-9) had only 5 players score, but 4 put up double figures. Junior Gage Holderby led the way with 24 points, and also recorded game-highs of 13 rebounds and 7 assists.
The Tigers sank only 5-of-26 3-point attempts in the game, while Newburg went 7-for-15 from behind the arc.
At Laquey, the Tigers were behind 16-5 at the end of the first quarter, but closed the gap to 25-19 by halftime. The host Hornets then outscored their guests 17-6 in the third quarter to take control of the contest.
Arthur led Houston in scoring with 12 points, while Riley and Root added 8 apiece.
The Tigers committed 24 turnovers in the game, resulting in 22 points for Laquey. Meanwhile, the Hornets had 17 turnovers that Houston converted into 11 points.
The Tigers went just 4-for-21 from 3-point range while Laquey went 6-for-19.
This week, the Tigers (5-12, 0-1 SCA) play a pair of South Central Association conference games, traveling to Salem on Tuesday and hosting Mountain Grove on Friday. Houston hosts two more SCA matchups next week, as Thayer (No. 3 in the latest Class 3 rankings) comes to town on Tuesday (Feb. 11) and Liberty visits on Friday.
“The next three weeks will be hard,” Narancich said. “It will be hard mentally and physically. We play three out of five days, and they are mostly SCA games, so our mindset needs to be ready for every game and every play. If we are not, then we will be in trouble.
“The team is having to learn to win and then come back out and win again – and that it is OK to win. I’m proud of these boys through every win and every time we lose. They come back into the gym the next day and we work, and we work hard.”
