CABOOL — The Houston Tigers’ final record wasn’t a good one. But first-year coach Dustin Kirkman believes enduring a 3-22 season was part of laying the foundation for what he hopes will be the rebirth of the boys’ basketball program.
“We stressed to the boys that they would have to take some lumps. That’s part of learning and part of inexperience,” Kirkman said after the Tigers’ season ended Saturday with a 64-54 loss to Alton in the play-in game of the Class 3 District 2 tournament.
“But it will benefit them in the long run. There were some positives that the boys can build on for the future of this program.”
Kirkman knew it would be a difficult season. He started two freshmen and a sophomore. His team was also inexperienced. Senior Dalton Pokorny was playing his first full year of high school basketball.
There were plenty of growing pains. There were also positive moments. Houston hung tough a couple state-ranked teams and was competitive for a majority of the games.
“Even in some of the losses that got stretched toward the end of the game — we were within six late in the game against state-ranked Dixon and were in the game against Summersville, who is also a state-ranked team, before we ran out of legs,” Kirkman said. “We were within four late in the game against Stoutland.
“We took some thumps, but we had some really bright spots, too.”
The Tigers had an early 18-12 advantage against Alton — a team they beat earlier in the season for their first victory. It was tied 25-all at the half before Alton used a 17-9 third-quarter advantage to begin pulling away.
Walker scored a team-best 17 points and Pokorny had 13 in his final game. Cory Scheets, another senior, and Devin Coulter scored eight points apiece.
Alton’s Kalon Honeycutt hit five 3-pointers en route to a game-high 26 points. Skylar Chronister scored 17.
“Alton shot the ball better than the previous time we played,” Kirkman said.
On Thursday, the Tigers completed the regular season with a 90-77 loss to Stoutland.
Walker hit four 3-pointers en route to a career-high 33 points. Freshman Aaron Cantrell scored 17.
It was the final home games for seniors Scheets and Pokorny. They were honored after the game with senior members of the cheerleading team and pep band.
“Those guys could have laid down or quit. They never did,” Kirkman said. “They showed up and worked hard every day. I hope the underclassmen learned from them — that hard work and staying with it is what it’s all about.”
Kirkman said the offseason would be critical to the team’s future success. He said rebuilding the program would be a 2-3 year process. He expects next season his team can be around the .500 mark.
“They are kids and we want them to have fun and enjoy their summer,” Kirkman said. “But I try to remind them that you only have 3-4 years of playing ball. You can do a lot of these things — hanging out and fishing — for the rest of your lives.
“I really hope they can grasp that idea and know that they need to seize the opportunity they have now and put the most into it they can.”
Saturday’s game
Class 3 District 2
Alton 9 16 17 22 — 64
Houston 11 14 9 20 — 54
ALTON (64) — Mark Smith 4. Randy Ray 5. Zach Roberts 4. Skylar Chronister 17. Kalon Honeycutt 26. Wes Carswell 8. FG 22. FT 15-18. F 28. (3-pointers: Honeycutt 5, Chronister. Fouled out: Smith)
HOUSTON (54) — Aaron Cantrell 2. Devin Coulter 8. Weston Walker 17. Cory Scheets 8. Rodney Preheim 6. Dalton Pokorny 13. FG 17. FT 21-32. F 20. (3-pointers: Walker)
Thursday’s game
Stoutland 19 31 16 24 — 90
Houston 14 26 20 17 — 77
STOUTLAND (90) — Jake Stephens 28. Travis Miller 15. John Lawrence 6. Billy Willard 38. Jacob Stephens 4. FG 34. FT 12-22. F 19. (3-pointers: Willard 3 Stephens 2, Miller. Fouled out: Stephens)
HOUSTON (77) — Aaron Cantrell 17. Devin Coulter 12. Weston Walker 33. Cory Scheets 5. Rodney Preheim 8. Dalton Pokorny 2. FG 29. FT 12-27. F 19. (3-pointers: Walker 4, Cantrell 2, Coulter)