Even without its starting forward, the Houston Tigers nearly knocked off state-ranked Thayer.
The Tigers led the Bobcats at the end of the first three quarters Saturday in the championship game of the Liberty Invitational. But Thayer rallied with a 20-8 fourth quarter to deny the upset bid and escape with a 56-47 victory.
Houston, which defeated Alton 55-47 in Thursday’s semifinals, hung close with Thayer despite playing without Ty Scheets. The junior forward hurt his ankle when he landed on a teammate’s foot during warm-ups and did not play. He was on crutches the following day and is expected to be sidelined for a short time.
Michael Buckner hit six 3-pointers en route to a team-high 21 points for Houston (8-7). Jonathan Page added 10 points.
The Tigers stayed close to Thayer with 10 3-pointers. They only made four shots inside the arc.
Buckner hit three triples and sophomore Jesse Setters added another as Houston led 14-12 after the first quarter. Long-distance shots by Buckner, Ryan O’Neil and Chad Hutsell accounted for all nine of the Tigers’ second-quarter points as they led 23-22 at the half.
Buckner added another trey in the third quarter, and Tyler DeWitt connected from downtown to keep Houston ahead 39-36 entering the final quarter.
In the semifinals, Buckner scored 28 points and O’Neil added 10 to pace the Tigers.
Buckner hit three more triples and was 10-for-12 at the free-throw line. DeWitt scored seven points, and Page chipped in six.
Houston, which lost to Alton in double overtime in the second game of the season, broke a 39-all tie by outscoring the Comets 16-8 in the final quarter. The Tigers were 9-for-12 from the foul line in the quarter, including a perfect 6-of-6 by Buckner.
Saturday’s Game
Houston 14 9 16 8 – 47
Thayer 12 10 14 20 – 56
HOUSTON (8-7) – Page 3 4-6 10. Oakley 0 0-2 0. Buckner 6 3-3 21. Setters 1 0-0 3. DeWitt 2 0-0 5. O’Neil 1 0-0 3. Hutsell 1 2-2 5. Totals 14 9-13 56.
3-pointers: 10 (Buckner 6, Setters, DeWitt, O’Neil).
Thursday’s Game
Houston 16 10 13 16 – 55
Alton 9 6 14 20 – 49
HOUSTON (8-6) – Page 3 0-0 6. Oakley 1 0-0 2. Buckner 5 10-12 23. DeWitt 2 2-2 7. ONeil 3 3-4 10. Hutsell 0 3-6 3. TScheets 2 0-0 4. Totals 16 18-24 55.
ALTON – Ross 4 0-0 8. Hollis 5 2-5 12. Gatewood 1 3-4 5. Thompson 3 0-1 6. Neldon 2 0-0 4. Brewer 3 8-9 14. Totals 18 13-19 49.
3-pointers: Houston 5 (Buckner, DeWitt, O’Neil); Alton 0.
