BOYS BASKETBALL

Humboldt boys stay perfect in 14-A

Michael Odom
USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee
The Humboldt bench erupts after a slam dunk against Middleton at Humboldt High School in Humboldt, Tenn., on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016.

HUMBOLDT — On a night where players and teams from past state championships where honored, the current Humboldt Vikings put on a display proving they have their sights on winning another state title.

Humboldt defeated Trenton Peabody 90-74 to keep its undefeated District 14-A streak alive at 12-0 and their overall record at 20-1.

“Our goal at the beginning of the season was not to be undefeated,” said Humboldt coach Ron Abernathy, “Our goal was to get better every game and be playing our best at the end of the season in Murfreesboro.”

The Viking offensive was in high gear all night, scoring points from long range as well as inside the paint.

Senior guard Kortland Martin had the hot hand shooting from long range as he sank four 3-point shots that helped him to a game-high 24 points.

“Kortland is a senior leader on this team, who is our calming factor when things get a little stormy or out of control on the court,” Abernathy said.

Down in the paint, the Vikings had three players contribute to the team’s offensive success.

Anthony Jones after getting in early foul trouble came on strong in the second half and scored 15 points and pulled down five rebounds. Jones brought the crowd to their feet on three occasions with dunks.

Devonte Bennett filling in for Jones in the first half had 11 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots.

Justin Pankey scored 11 points and a crowd-raising dunk of his own in the fourth period.

“Our game plan all season has been to get the ball inside to the big guys and then work it back out,” said Martin. “It makes it a lot easier to get open shots on the outside when the inside game is working like tonight."

Peabody was led in scoring by Jadarius Harris with 20 points and Cameron Luten with 16 points. Center Khance Hill had 10 rebounds to go with 15 points before fouling out.

Peabody is now 12-9 overall and 7-5 in District 14-A.

Girls Basketball

Humboldt 58,

Peabody 49

In the opening game of the night, the Lady Vikings fought back from a slow start with four points in the first quarter to upset Peabody and win their second game in as many nights.

Humboldt was led by Tyreyouna Nelson with 14 points and Shelby Cook with 13 points, as both had some penetrating drives to go along with some outside shooting.

Post player Jayla Cook had 12 points.