WILLOW SPRINGS –– Alton wasted little time putting away the Houston Tigers in the opening round of districts.
Behind their uptempo play and deep bench, the No. 3 Comets raced ahead by 20 points early in the second quarter and cruised to a 72-53 victory Tuesday night at Willow Springs High School.
The sixth-seeded Tigers hung tough with Alton in the team’s previous matchup in mid-December. They trailed by just six points in the fourth quarter before losing by nine.
But the second meeting wasn’t close.
“We would have had to play a near perfect ball game to slide past them, but we didn’t come close to that,” first-year HHS coach Richard Rose said. “Unfortunately, it just was not our night. They play great uptempo and can attack you from any angle.”
Alton (21-5) will face No. 2 Hartville in one of Thursday’s two semifinal games. The other matches top-seeded Liberty against No. 5 Licking.
Houston completed the season with six consecutive losses and finished 6-19 under Rose. The Tigers, who had their fourth different coach in four seasons, improved on their win totals from the previous two years and were competitive down the stretch against the top teams in the conference and district.
“I didn’t know how the kids would react to me. The kids didn’t know what to expect from me either,” Rose said. “We were undermanned all year, and they never quit fighting. Although we could have and probably should have won some more games, they all improved as individuals and as a team. As a coach, that is all you can ask for.”
Devin Coulter scored 25 points as he eclipsed the 500-point mark for his junior season to lead the Tigers. He also hit three 3-pointers and finished the season with 76 –– second in recent years to Michael Buckner’s 86 in 2006-’07.
Weston Walker hit two triples and scored 12 points in the final game of his HHS career. Walker was honored alongside his parents Friday night in the Tigers’ 68-54 home loss to Cabool.
“I shared this with the team –– Weston has not had an easy go around through high school when it comes to basketball,” Rose said. “ He has had a different coach every year. It is impossible to buy in to a new system year in and year out. He did everything I asked of him as a leader, and I commend him for his dedication to his teammates and to the success of this team.”
Coulter scored 29 points in the loss to the Bulldogs. Weston Walker scored 16 before fouling out.
BOX SCORES
Tuesday’s game
| Houston | 9 | 10 | 22 | 12 | – | 53 |
| Alton | 21 | 19 | 20 | 12 | – | 72 |
HOUSTON (53) – Devin Coulter 25. Nathan Poynter 2. Tanner Smith 4. Weston Walker 12. Kobe Sutton 3. Kolby Walker 7. FG 21. FT 5-15. (3-pointers: Coulter 3, WWalker 2, Sutton).
Friday’s game
| Cabool | 14 | 14 | 20 | 20 | – | 68 |
| Houston | 18 | 17 | 7 | 12 | – | 54 |
HOUSTON (54) –– Devin Coulter 29. Aaron Cantrell 1. Weston Walker 16. Kolby Walker 2. Kobe Sutton 6. FG 18. FT 9-14. F 13. (3-pointers: Coulter 5, WWalker 2, Sutton 2. Fouled out: WWalker. Technical: WWalker).
• HHS Tigers vs. Alton in district opener
• HHS Tigers vs. Cabool and senior night