During a flurry of four games in seven days (including three South Central Association conference matchups), the Houston High School boys basketball team came up empty.
The stretch began with a 70-51 loss in an SCA contest on Tuesday of last week at Salem. The Tigers then traveled to Summersville last Thursday and fell 62-54 before losing an SCA game against Mountain Grove Friday in Tiger Fieldhouse, 75-54, and then dropping a conference battle with Thayer on Monday of this week, 72-31.
At Salem, the host Tigers led 13-6 at the end of the first quarter and steadily increased the margin the rest of the way.
Riley led the visiting Tigers in scoring with 15 points (all in the second half), while senior guards Jordan Arthur and Nick Dennis had 12 apiece. On the way to posting a career high in scoring, Dennis was red hot in the second period, sinking two shots from 3-point territory and scoring all 12 of his points.
Salem (9-11 after the win) was led in scoring by junior Braiden Gapsch with 23 points, who was also hot in the second period, nailing three treys and tossing in 13 points.
The host Tigers’ margin of victory came down to going 22-for-40 from 2-point range (55%) while the visiting Tigers went 13-for-27 (48%).
LATE SURGE LIFTS SUMMERSVILLE
At Summersville, the score was tied 31-all at halftime, and the Tigers held a slim 42-39 advantage at the end of the third quarter.
But in the fourth period, the host Wildcats secured the victory by going 12-for-12 from the free-throw line and getting three 3-pointers from sophomore Paxton Hunter.
One stand-out statistic from the contest was fouls. Overall, the tally was almost even, with Houston being whistled for 18 and Summersville 16, but the officials didn’t call a single foul on the Wildcats in the second half, while the Tigers had 9.
Riley led Houston in scoring with 20 points, while senior guard Zeke Grange poured in 9 points in the second quarter (including two treys) and finished with a career-high 12.
Hunter led all scorers in the game with 32 points (including 15 in the fourth quarter), while senior Tyler Berry drained two triples in the second period and had 16.
MOUNTAIN GROVE ENJOYS BIG THIRD QUARTER
Mountain Grove jumped out to an 18-8 lead at the end of the first quarter of Friday’s game, but the Tigers closed the gap to 33-29 by halftime.
The Panthers then took control of the contest in the third period by outscoring their hosts 23-9 and then padded the lead a bit in the fourth.
Arthur converted 5 field goals and a free throw during Houston’s second quarter rally and finished with a team-high 21 points, while Riley had 11 and senior center Brody Adkison added 8.
Neither team shot well from long range, as the Tigers sank only 4-of-22 shots from behind the 3-point arc and the Panthers went just 4-for-17 from deep. But Mountain Grove scored 20 points in transition and 25 off turnovers, compared to Houston’s 6 points in transition and 14 off turnovers.
HIGHLY-RANKED BOBCATS ROLL
Thayer came into Monday’s game at No. 5 in the latest Class 3 state rankings.
The Bobcats took control in the first quarter, with 6-6 senior forward Devin Harrington and senior guard Easton Pitts putting on a show on the offensive end of the floor, as Pitts had 11 points in the period and Harrington had 10 to lift the squad to a 23-6 lead going into the second quarter.
The athletic, high-flying Harrington had four slam dunks in the first half. The first was a spectacular flush, as he grabbed a defensive rebound and dribbled the length of the court before throwing down a two-handed slam.
After leading 33-21 at halftime, the Bobcats outscored the Tigers 20-7 in the third quarter, with senior forward Brandon Prince scoring 10 points on a series of short-range buckets.
The three-man officiating crew didn’t blow their whistles often in the contest, as Houston was assessed only 4 fouls and Thayer only 6. Subsequently, the Tigers went 1-for-1 from the free throw line and the Bobcats went 0-for-2.
Only four players scored for Houston in the game. Arthur knocked down three treys and scored 13 of the team’s 16 points in the first half on the way to finishing with a team-high 17. Junior center Gavyn Daily scored 6 points for the Tigers, while Adkison had 5 and junior Caden Guerra added 3.
Pitts led Thayer in scoring with 21 points, while Harrington had 20 and Prince finished with 14.
The victory lifted the Bobcats’ record to 17-4 overall and 3-1 in SCA play.
Next up for Houston (5-17, 0-4 SCA) is another SCA home game Friday against Liberty and a matchup with Lesterville at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in the annual Bunker Shootout.
“We are starting to slow down on our speed and game play a little with injuries and a couple of the boys coming off from being sick,” said Tigers head coach Dan Narancich. “The boys are mentally and physically exhausted but they’re giving everything they have. We play such a high-paced game that it is hard to stay at a high level, and especially going 4 out 7 days playing. We get a little bit of a rest this week, so we will be able to practice and rest ourselves as a team.”
As the regular season winds down next week, the Tigers are scheduled to host county-rival Cabool on Tuesday, travel to Dora on Thursday and head for Ava on Friday.
“I feel good where we stand as a team and the direction we are going,” Narancich said. “I wouldn’t change one thing and I’m proud of these boys and believe in them every game that we have. We still have some energy left in the old tank to pull off some upsets.”
Houston will host the Class 3 District 10 Tournament beginning Monday, Feb. 24.
