It was about as important of an early December non-district win as it could be for the Humble Wildcats Tuesday night.
With a playoff team of a year in Cypress Springs in the building, the Wildcats held as much as a 22-point lead in the second half, but were challenged late.
Humble, a team with its sights on ending a playoff drought that has lasted five years, took the 71-63 win over the late-surging Panthers.
Cypress Springs (3-4) – which won meetings over the Wildcats the past two seasons – got to within a point in the fourth quarter. But Humble’s dynamic sophomore Jae’Qurian Lincoln knocked down a couple of important 3s and senior leader Derrick Buckner Jr made a fastbreak layup with 18 seconds left and added a pair of free throws to secure the win.
“It’s a very good win for us,” Humble third-year coach Chris Reid said. “Very good team we played and very good coach. Coach (Larry) Boykin is really good, Cy Springs is really good. They were Top 25 last year and he always does a great job with them. I think this is a very good measuring stick, because with their length and athleticism, the full-court pressure and style of play – it is comparable to some of the teams we’re going to see in our district.”
For Buckner Jr, it was all about Humble (7-3) having the ability to remain in control. It never lost the lead, even during some lean moments late.
“I was just trying not to get frustrated,” Buckner Jr said. “We had a lot of turnovers at the end of the game. Bad turnovers. I just told them to stay poised and calm and run through our press break. We won the game by making good decisions.”
Humble extended its winning streak to three by leading wire-to-wire in this one. The Wildcats defeated Aldine MacArthur by by 29 points in their most recent outing on Nov. 25.
“We’ve been placing a lot of emphasis on learning how to win,” Reid said. “Last year, we were 9-24 and the first year we were 6-20-something. Right now, we’re 7-3. That’s progress. But it’s still apart of the process.”
Humble led 17-8 after the first quarter and shot out like a rocket ship to start the second quarter.
Lincoln and Kobe Lacy drained 3s on consecutive possessions before Ashton Williams swiped a steal and took it to the rack.
The scoring spurt continued after a Panthers timeout as Lincoln added another 2 and Lacy made a layup to cap the 11-0 run for a 29-8 lead.
“Basketball is a game of runs,” Buckner Jr said. “We’re going to go up about 10 and then maybe they go up and score by 10 or something. It’s just a game of runs.”
Cy Springs found its bearings and made it a nine-point game by halftime.
Lee Pouncil wowed the crowd with a thunderous one-handed dunk as a part of a 8-0 run that cut the deficit to 13 points.
After a 3-pointer by Buckner Jr, who led the team with 10 points at halftime, Cy Springs reeled off eight more points, led off by a finished alley-oop by Ife Bolaji, who led all scorers at the half with 12.
Humble led 34-25 at halftime on 15-for-29 shooting and 11 takeaways.
A 3-pointer at the 4:17 mark of the third quarter by Amaree Jones helped spark a 12-0 run that boosted the lead to 51-29.
Cy Springs started the fourth quarter on a 14-4 run to pull within a point, but Lincoln’s 3-pointer at the 2:38 mark sparked an 8-0 run.
“I thought we applied pressure early and created some separation,” Reid said. “At times, we shot the ball well from outside.”
Lincoln, at 6-foot-6, finished with a game-high 24 points. He made the All-Tournament team at the Oak Ridge Tournament nearly two weeks back.
“He’s a very, very talented kid,” Reid said. “To be at his size and ability for his age, he has a lot of upside. But he’s good right now. I’m glad to have it.”
Buckner Jr totaled 16 points and Amory Arie had 12. Lacy finished with seven.
“Derrick is a tough kid,” Reid said. “He provides good, veteran leadership for us. He doesn’t get too high or too low and he comes through in the clutch.”
For Cy Springs, Asian Ray had 16 of his 17 points in the second half. Royal Mayfield added 15 points while Bolaji finished with 14.
Humble hosts Clear Lake next Tuesday and District 23-6A and the path to the postseason begins Dec. 17 at home with Atascocita.
“It feels good to put back on track to where we know Humble was once,” Buckner Jr said. “Humble was really big in the past. It’s my pleasure to be back and get Humble back on track and be better. Get Humble back popping in the world.”
Buckner Jr felt that school pride across the board on campus has been an uplifting experience his senior year.
“You just see the whole atmosphere of the school has changed,” Buckner Jr said. “It’s not how it’s usually been. The school in general. There’s energy on the basketball team and we have all our supporters coming back. We’re a better team now. Humble is destined to be great again.”
Humble’s Amaree Jones and Kobe Lacy (2) defend against Cypress Springs’ Royal Mayfield in a game played Dec. 3 at Humble High School. (Chris Zorzi/SportCast Media)
