Playing twice late last week in the annual Cabool Holiday Tournament, the Houston High School boys basketball team had mixed results.
Seeded 13th in the event’s 16-team bracket, the Tigers were downed by No. 4 Norwood, 59-48, on Friday, but then came back Saturday and handily defeated No. 12 Summersville, 70-39.
A TALE OF TWO HALVES
During the first half of the contest with Norwood, Houston had major difficulty dealing with the Pirates’ full-court defensive pressure and subsequently committed numerous turnovers.
While the Tigers couldn’t get their offense rolling, Norwood built a commanding 30-14 lead by halftime.
Things were different after the break, as the Tigers found their groove and looked more like the squad that had entered the game on a three-game winning streak.
The two teams exchanged runs in the third quarter and each scored 18 points. Then in the fourth period, Houston notched another 16 and Norwood added 11.
But the first half deficit proved too much to overcome.
The Tigers ended up with 18 turnovers in the game (including 12 in the first half), and Norwood scored 20 points off turnovers while Houston had 10.
The Pirates also decisively won the battle of the boards 41-25, recording 18 offensive rebounds resulting in 11 second-chance points, compared to just 3 for the Tigers.
Senior guard Caden Guerra led Houston in scoring, tossing in 16 points in the second half after being blanked before the break. Senior guard DJ Riley had 12 points for the Tigers, while senior center Gavyn Daily scored 6 and had a team-high 7 rebounds. Freshman guard Griffin Aaron came off the bench to add 6 points for Houston.
Senior guard Andrew Bradshaw led Norwood in scoring with a game-high 22 points, while senior forward Carder Kelly had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
LOPSIDED WIN DESPITE SLOW START
Summersville’s roster this season features only one upperclassman (a senior), along with four sophomores and five freshmen.
The first quarter featured multiple lead changes and ended with the Tigers on top 16-15. But after the Wildcats took a brief lead early in the second period, Houston went back on top 17-16 when Aaron stole the ball near midcourt, charged toward the basket and fed Riley for a layup.
The Tigers never looked back and went on to hold a 39-23 halftime advantage.
The Tigers had a 9-0 run and an 11-0 run during the second period, with Guerra draining three 3-pointers and Riley scoring 8 points during the decisive surge.
Houston maintained the momentum throughout the second half, outscoring the Wildcats 31-16 to cruise to the win.
Riley finished with a game-high 26 points, while Aaron tossed in 10 in the second half and finished with a career-high 12. Guerra also scored in double figures for Houston with 11 points, while freshman forward Karson McCain added 9.
Houston’s reserves played plenty of minutes in the second half, including freshman guard Bentley Clinton, who scored for the first time this season, finishing with 3 points after connecting on a free throw and a layup at the end of a fast break.
The Tigers played a much cleaner game, turning the ball over only 8 times while forcing Summersville into 20 turnovers. Houston scored a whopping 29 points off those miscues, while the Wildcats had only 4 points off turnovers.
Summersville (1-7) was led in scoring by senior guard Malachi Cooper with 11 points, while sophomore guard Reed Peifer had 9 and sophomore guard Micah Cooper added 8.
The tournament’s unusual format redistributed first-round winners and losers into a pair of 8-team brackets, with the winners’ bracket determining first, second and third-place finishers, as well as a consolation victor, and the losers’ bracket determining a single winner.
The Tigers’ win over Summersville earned them a game against Mammoth Spring, Arkansas, on Monday of this week, with the winner advancing to the loser’s bracket final on Tuesday.
The Tigers (4-4 through last week) wrap up the holiday break with a road matchup Friday (Jan. 2) at county rival Licking.