Highland holds off late Centerburg charge, wins second straight

MARENGO – It all became too much for Chris Powell with 4:40 left in the fourth quarter, as the Highland head coach crouched in front of his bench and watched Centerburg draw within 6 points of his Scots, who had led by as many as 17 to begin the second half on Tuesday night.

He watched Centerburg’s Michael Kuhn knock down two free throws. He felt an uneasiness about the whole situation; it was all too familiar, after leading Mount Vernon the entire game just 12 days ago but falling in the final seconds.

“Time out,” Powell told the near official, his face as red as his buttoned-down shirt.

At that point, Highland had scored just 6 points in the second half. Centerburg had begun playing with a sense of urgency, scoring 7 of its 27 points within a one-minute span in the middle of the final stanza. They got stops on defense and pushed the ball down the court offensively, attacking the rim with ease.

Inside the Highland huddle, Powell told his team to take care of the ball, run the offense and get a good shot. He told them to take their time – everything would be all right.

“You know, just be patient,” he recalled afterwards.

And out of the timeout, his team did just that. They ate nearly two minutes off the clock, methodically hunting for a quality look while handling the Trojan pressure. And just when Centerburg thought it might get the ball back, as an errant layup went careening off the backboard, senior forward Mack Anglin was there to snag the board over Kuhn and lay it in, putting Highland up 35-27 with 2:45 left.

Any momentum Centerburg had down the stretch had been squelched by one long, drawn-out, knockout blow.

From there, Highland cruised to a 38-29 win over its Route 314 foe. It was a brutally defensive affair; Highland won despite scoring just five field goals in the second half. The Scots (2-2, 2-0 KMAC) hit just one three-pointer (so did Centerburg), and they went on scoring droughts of four and five minutes in the final two quarters.

But in conference play, a win’s a win.

“I thought our defensive effort was just unbelievable,” Powell said after the game, looking at the positives. “I thought our guys just really guarded. We mixed our defenses up throughout the game and it’s hard to tell with what we do, what we’re in.”

Highland toggled between its aggressive zone and man-to-man defenses, making it difficult for Centerburg (2-2, 1-1 KMAC) to find a rhythm offensively. The Scots used their length to deflect passes and block shots at the rim.

In doing so, they held Centerburg’s two leading scorers – Hayden Hankinson and Carter Jones – to a combined 10 points. Jones, coming off a 21-point performance on Friday against Cardington, did not score until he slipped behind the Highland zone for a buzzer-beater layup at the end of the third quarter. The sophomore finished with 2 points.

Centerburg head coach Skyler Brusco said after the game that his team struggled to execute against the zone, as it often could not get the ball into the the middle of the key, which could have opened up inside-out scoring options. Highland’s length prompted 16 Trojan turnovers, which limited the number of shots they attempted (they made just 12 field goals all night).

Brusco said that by the time his young team felt confident playing against the zone, it was too late.

“They give people problems with that zone, so I thought they gave us a little bit of an issue – you know, their length,” Brusco said. “I thought we were a little tentative early, and their length made us a little tentative. And I thought as the game progressed, we got a little bit more aggressive going at them and converted some layups because of that.”

Tuesday night’s two leading scorers – Highland’s Noah Dado and Centerburg’s Kuhn – had 11 points apiece. Anglin added 8 for the victors, while Hankinson did the same for his club.

Life was easy for Highland through the game’s first 24 minutes. The Scots jumped out to a 10-5 lead late in the first quarter when Anglin found Dado on a smooth pick-and-roll dump-off, where the 6-foot-5 swingman found the 6-foot-6 center near the rim and all he had to do was lay it in.

Centerburg went 0-for-5 from three-point range in the first quarter, allowing Highland to jump out to a 9-point lead. Things would only get worse for the Trojans in the second stanza, as a Branton Howard corner three made it 23-9 with 2:23 left, and the Scots led by 15 going into the locker room.

Highland shared the ball and attacked the rim at opportune times in the first half, slicing through the soft spots of the Centerburg zone for easy lay-ins.

The Highland lead would increase to 17 points in the third quarter before Kuhn and Hankinson pulled Centerburg back into contention. The two combined for 19 of the team’s 29 points, including 10 in the second half. Defensively, Centerburg forced Highland into turnovers and offensive fouls, causing the Scots’ offense to dry up.

But when Highland answered the bell after the Powell timeout midway through the fourth quarter, it was too little, too late for the visiting Trojans.

Brusco gave credit to his team for climbing back into the game late, saying that “a lot of teams probably would’ve quit.” He said games like Tuesday night’s can be used as a learning experience, crucial for such a young roster.

“You know, we’re building,” Brusco said. “I think, like I said, a lot of teams probably would’ve quit. The ball wasn’t going in. But our guys stuck together and they’re to be commended for that. They’ve got great heart, they’ve got great character, and our leadership is starting to show a little too. So that’s good we’re growing in that area, that’s what we need to do.”

While it wasn’t pretty (Highland shot 3-of-10 from the free throw line and scored just 11 points in the second half), Powell was excited to escape with a conference win. He lauded his team’s defensive effort, especially that of senior point guard Andy Wheeler, who wreaked havoc at the top of the team’s matchup zone.

Wheeler has been a hidden hero for the Scots so far this season, someone Powell can rely on to do whatever is needed of him on any given night. Wheeler scored just 2 points on Tuesday night, but his impact was felt well beyond the box score.

“He’s giving a ton of effort and energy on the defensive end. His stat tonight was defense, and I bet he probably led us in deflections and probably led us in steals,” Powell said. “And I think this is the third straight game where he didn’t have a turnover. So that’s a tremendous credit to him, just being a point guard.

“Sometimes you score and sometimes you don’t. You know, we needed him to shoot shots at Danville and he did. We needed him to handle the ball and get us into the offense and be a defender tonight and he did that. And we won both games because of it.”

Highland remained tied with Fredericktown and East Knox for first place in the KMAC with the win on Tuesday. The Scots beat Danville in their conference opener last Friday, 54-53, and seem to have turned the tide after losing two close games to bigger schools (Mount Vernon and Centennial by a combined 9 points) to begin the season.

“Tonight was another step for us, getting another league win,” Powell said. “We’re just trying to put ourselves in a great position to go out and win a league championship.”

Highland will battle Mount Gilead (2-2, 0-2 KMAC) on the road on Friday night.

Centerburg took its first KMAC loss on Tuesday after demolishing Cardington (1-4, 0-2 KMAC) on Friday, 69-35. The Trojans will need to regroup quickly before hosting East Knox on Friday. The Bulldogs are the only undefeated team left in the KMAC.

Other Tuesday scores:

• Northmor beat Danville, 48-44
• Fredericktown beat Mount Gilead, 70-50
• East Knox beat Cardington, 55-34

Updated KMAC standings (as of Dec. 12)

1. East Knox (4-0, 2-0 KMAC)

1. Fredericktown (2-1, 2-0 KMAC)

1. Highland (2-2, 2-0 KMAC)

4. Centerburg (2-2, 1-1 KMAC)

4. Northmor (1-1, 1-1 KMAC)

6. Danville (1-2, 0-2 KMAC)

6. Mount Gilead (2-2, 0-2 KMAC)

6. Cardington (1-4, 0-2 KMAC)