By Tom Waddill
The Hornets set two goals prior to Friday’s final home game of the season. They wanted to notch their 20th win of the season, and they wanted to stay away from injuries while doing it.
The Huntsville boys batted .500, but it might not be that bad.
Junior Jason Nwisienyi scored 24 points and helped the Hornets blow past a struggling Caney Creek squad 70-23. But right before halftime, senior post Justin Gilbert twisted his right ankle and fell hard on the floor.
Gilbert spent the rest of the night on crutches, his ankle wrapped tightly with tape. Hornets coach Larry Carlson believes Gilbert will be all right, but he may have to sit out the regular-season finale next week at Brenham.
“I don’t think it’s as serious as last year when he got hurt,” Carlson said of Gilbert’s ankle injury. “He’s probably day to day. Rest and ice is what he needs right now, so he’s probably questionable for Tuesday’s game against Brenham.
“Doc (trainer Brian Parker) thinks it’s not real severe. Justin just went up for a rebound and came down on somebody else’s foot.”
With Gilbert out, Nwisienyi picked up the slack and then some. The 6-foot-6 post scored 16 points in the second half — 14 in the fourth quarter — leading Huntsville to an easy victory.
After senior Adrian Boudreaux popped a pair of 3-pointers for the Hornets, Nwisienyi took over the inside game. He hit back-to-back hook shots, scored on a putback, then threw down a two-handed dunk that gave the Huntsville fans something to cheer about as they bundled up and started heading for the exits.
“Jason was attacking the basket tonight. He’s getting his hook shot down and he’s starting to play with a lot of confidence,” Carlson said of his long and tall big man, Nwisienyi.
The Hornets (11-2 in District 18-4A, 20-14 overall) started slowly, but picked up the pace in the second period and finished with a flurry. Ahead 16-10 early in the second quarter, Huntsville started running on the short-handed Panthers, who only had seven players suited up.
Huntsville went on a 16-3 spurt to finish the half. Junior Trevion Byrd scored eight of his 12 points in the first half. Late in the second quarter, Byrd beat everyone down the court and soared to the basket for a crowd-pleasing slam.
“We started off kind of rusty, but at the end of the second quarter we started playing good,” Byrd said. “We played as a team. We were taking the ball to the hole. Coach wanted us to stop shooting so many 3-pointers.”
Senior Jeremy Laday scored 13 points, sophomore Kriston Minor added nine and Boudreaux had seven.
Brandon Handley and Robert Williams scored five points apiece to lead the Panthers.
Huntsville, which has clinched second place in the district, heads to Brenham on Tuesday to close out the regular season. The Cubs clinched an outright 18-4A title on Friday with a 50-39 win over Montgomery.
