Join the club: Sommer reaches 1,000 career points as Cubs club Neodesha

With the win, the Cubs advance to Friday’s semifinal matchup with fourth-seeded Wichita Trinity, set for 6 pm at Eureka High School.

Tuesday night’s contest didn’t contain much suspense, as Humboldt (18-3) raced out to a 21-2 lead. The Cubs continued to pour it on in the second quarter, holding a decisive 42-10 halftime advantage.

Sommer’s first half offensive exploits included 19 points, connecting on 7-of-7 from the free throw line. The Bluestreaks (3-18) also had difficulty containing forwards Colden Cook and Sam Hull, who combined for 16 points in the half. 

1,000 Points Club 

With the game out of reach, the final order of business transpired early in the third quarter. Sitting on 998 career points, the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Sommer bulldozed his way to the bucket, crossing 1,000 points with a layup.

It was fitting that Sommer needed only three quarters to accomplish the feat, as 996 of his 1,000 career points came in just three seasons. Sommer is only the seventh male player in school history to accomplish the feat.

“Not a lot of people have done it here,” Sommer said. “It’s truly an honor.”

Sommer also erupted for 26 points in the previous meeting with Neodesha.

“It was kind of the same thing,” he said. “We blew them out and it was a ruining clock, so I didn’t really get to play much in the second half.”

Head coach Dave Taylor’s habit of resting key starters during the second half of decisive victories has held Sommer down from ascending further up the all-time scoring list.

“Once I hit 25 points, coach Taylor wanted to make sure none of us got hurt before Friday’s game,” said the two-sport star athlete, who spent the fall gashing defenses on the gridiron as an electrifying workhorse tailback.

Sommer feels good about the Cubs’ prospects Friday night.

“If we play how we’re capable of playing, we should be the team to beat,” he said.

Sommer departed the contest for good late in the third quarter to a loud ovation. His 25-points came on an 8-of-15 shooting performance from the field, while also hitting 9-of-12 free throws. Sommer also finished with a game-high eight rebounds and five steals.

Taylor was more impressed with his squad’s defensive chops than anything that was accomplished on the offensive end.  

“We were good defensively,” he said, noting that the Cubs yielded just 12 points over the first 20 minutes of play.

Taylor said the lockdown defensive effort sparked the offense after a sluggish start in the opening minute of play.

“The first minute or so of the game, we weren’t in the right frame of mind and didn’t defend well,” he said. “After they got in the right frame of mind the defense really fueled the offense — and away they went. I was really pleased with the way they hit the outlet pass and moved the ball around.”

Taylor said the game-plan centered on sealing off driving lanes, as well as the baseline in particular.

Taylor added that he was impressed with Sommer’s play on both ends of the court.

“He was running in transition, but a lot of the transition breaks were caused by him getting a hand on the ball and getting a deflection,” Taylor said.

In a postgame interview with The Tribune, Sommer thanked the entire team for helping to make his memorable achievement possible. Taylor echoed those sentiments.

“The kids were very unselfish,” he said.

Taylor discussed the keys to victory for Friday night’s matchup.

“We have to stay focused on the defensive end. We did a decent job of trying to check off and block out, but we just didn’t go get the ball when the ball was there,” he said. And we just have to continue to be consistent on offense.”

Approaching three decades on the sidelines, with 16 years spent guiding the Cubs, Taylor stacked his team up against previous versions — including  state-runner finish in 2013.

“They’re up there,” he said, adding that it’s one of the taller groups he’s assembled. “I still think we can defend better. I’ve had other groups that have defended a lot better, but a lot of that has to do with our youth.”

Box Score

Neodesha: 2 8 10 10 — 30

Humboldt: 21 21 18 4 — 64

Scoring

Neodesha: Johnson 9, Cook 8, Springer 6, Ramey 3, Allen 2, Heck 2

Humboldt: Trey Sommer 25, Sam Hull 13, Colden Cook 9, Asher Hart 9, Logan Page 6, Jacob Harrington 2