Staff Reports
The Hornets really need a boost heading into the Killeen ISD Classic with a three-game losing streak Thursday night.
The effort was there and things finally fell into place for the Huntsville boys varsity basketball squad. Thanks to a strong defensive performance and four players in double-digit scoring, the Hornets rolled to a 66-51 victory over Killeen Shoemaker in the opening round.
“It was a game that had two disoriented offenses,” HHS head coach Larry Carlson said. “We came out and got two three-second violations to start the game because we were trying to run our offense. We got down 11-7, then we turned on the defense. Shoemaker got frustrated with our man-to-man defense in the third quarter and started throwing up shots. That’s when we built a lead.”
Senior guards Marvin Dunbar and Jeremy Laday each scored 15 points for the Hornets (2-3). Seniors Justin Gilbert and Trevion Byrd both chipped in 10 points.
Senior James Driscoll came close to making it five Hornets in double figures with eight points, while sophomore Kriston Minor scored four. Junior Jason Nwisienyi and senior Adrian Boudreaux both added two points.
“You look at the book and see that we had four guys score double figures. That was huge for us,” Carlson added. “Usually Laday scores 20 and the rest of the guys score six or seven. We need those guys to continue to step up. We had balanced scoring tonight and all the guys were hitting shots. Gilbert had a great game defensively and rebounding the ball.”
As balanced as the scoring was, Carlson was really pumped about the defensive effort. The coach said that Shoemaker had quick and talented guards, including Jade Allen, who led all scorers with 16 points.
But the Hornets came to play and the Grey Wolves had no answer.
“I knew the key was going to be the defense of our guards,” Carlson said. “Shoemaker is a fast team. We did a good job of closing off the lane and not letting their guards get to the basket.
“We also focused on getting down the court. I wanted the guys to push the ball as soon as one of their shots made it through the bottom of the net. We did that and got some easy layups. They really struggled defending us. We also went 10-of-14 from the free-throw line, which was a lot better.”
Huntsville will play two more games in the tournament today, beginning with Red Oak at 10:30 a.m. The Hornets finish the day with a 4:30 p.m. contest against Brazosport.
“We have played a difficult schedule against some good (Class) 5A schools,” the coach added. “We are doing that because it is going to get us ready for district. We aren’t going to face many teams with the size and athleticism as Alief Hastings, Oak Ridge, Lufkin, Houston Memorial and Shoemaker.
“Red Oak is going to give us a good idea of how we will matchup with Brenham. They both run straight zone (defenses) and have some leapers. We have to get good at playing against the zone because that is what we are going to see in district.”
