Holding the opposition to single digits in three of the four quarters, the Houston High School boys basketball team beat Cabool 54-36 in a South Central Association conference game Tuesday at Cabool.
The visiting Tigers led 14-8 following a buzzer-beating, 24-foot 3-pointer by senior guard Caden Guerra at the end of the first quarter.
Houston increased the lead to 18-8 early in the second quarter when 6-5 senior Gavyn Daily snatched an offensive rebound and scored from close range, but Cabool closed the gap to 19-15 when sophomore forward Josiah Leonard sank a short shot with 25 seconds left in the period.
But after freshman forward Karson McCain drilled a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, the Tigers went to the locker room at the break with a 22-15 advantage.
Houston outscored the Bulldogs 13-5 in the third quarter and held a 37-20 lead early in the fourth following a bucket from the low blocks by Daily, but Cabool trimmed the margin to 40-30 on a short basket by Leonard with 3:15 to go.
McCain then came up with a huge 3-point play, throwing down a one-handed slam dunk and sinking a free throw after being fouled. The large number of HHS fans in the student section joyfully chanted “he’s a freshman!” after the dunk.
When senior guard DJ Riley converted an uncontested layup with time running out, the Tigers had their biggest lead of the contest and the final score was on the board.
Guerra led Houston in scoring with 15 points, while McCain finished with 14, Daily had 10 and Riley added 9 (all in the second half).
Cabool (8-16, 0-6 SCA) was led in scoring by Leonard with 16 points, while junior forward Jordan Kentner added 10.
The win was Houston’s first in conference play this season.
The Tigers (11-13, 1-5 SCA) host a nonconference game Thursday against Dora and then conclude the regular season with an SCA home game Friday against Ava.
TO VIEW A PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE GAME, CLICK HERE.