Box score
Highland coach Chris Jones saw a bit of everything from his team in Friday’s 69-58 win over Murray.
There were stretches of great defense that led to easy transition buckets, and then sloppy stretches when Highland seem to commit a foul on every possession.
There were stretches offensively when the ball moved well and led to easy buckets, but others when the offensive stagnated with little movement.
For Jones, perhaps the most impressive thing was the resolve his players showed after a 23-point lead was shaved to seven late in the third quarter.
The Rams pushed it back to 15 heading into the fourth quarter and took care of business from there to improve to 2-0 early this season.
“You come on the road, it’s hard on the road, and if you can start off good like we did, it gives you a lot of confidence,” Jones said. “And then we just started fouling, and then we had to sit everybody, and then the game just kind of came to a screeching halt.”
Bodie Dodge led Highland with 19 points, with Jack Anderton chipping in 15 and Isaiah Drisdom adding 11.
For Murray, it was led by Damani Wilkerson’s 18 points, but the Spartans were playing catch-up pretty much the whole game after a brutal first quarter.
Murray buckled under Highland’s defensive pressure in the first quarter as seven turnovers allowed the visitors to rip off a 15-0 run in one stretch. Murray gave the ball away on five of six possessions at one point, with Highland racing to a 20-8 lead at the end of the quarter.
It’s the type of defense Jones has grown accustomed to, as last year’s Highland team led 5A in scoring defense, allowing just 51.4 points per game.
Highland continued to win at both ends of the floor in the second quarter, pushing the lead to 38-15 on an Anderton 3-pointer midway through.
By that point though, Highland was in foul trouble, and Murray took advantage by attacking the basket and getting to the foul line, scoring the last nine points of the half and it only trailed 38-24 at the break.
“We have to guard without fouling. Last year, we were the No. 1 defensive team in the state because we guarded without fouling and we had size to protect us back there, and now we don’t have as much size back there, and we have to be able to guard one on one,” said Jones. “And I’m just a big believer you got to be able to guard one on one without fouling.”
Murray continued to attack the rim in the third quarter and Highland continued to foul, allowing the home team to slowly whittle away at the lead.
Ethan Davies’ jumper with 2:34 left in the third quarter cut Highland’s lead to just 44-37.
Charle Hodge answered with a corner 3-pointer to push the lead back to 10. It keyed a 10-2 run that stretched the lead to 54-39 heading into the fourth quarter.
“Charlie Hodge came off the bench and made a huge 3, then Bodie Dodge made a huge 3 and (we) kind of weathered the storm,” said Jones.
He believes the confidence his team gained will be invaluable as the season marches on.
“Confidence is everything in basketball,” he said. “You come on the road and win against a good team, the win gives you confidence because now what happens if you lose, then you’re on your next road game, then you get down into a close game, and then they’re thinking, ‘Oh, are we going to be able to hold on again?’
Now they think they can win, and that’s what happened last year with that group,” said Jones.
Last year’s team rode that confidence into the state semifinals, and despite having just one returning starter, this group is hoping to develop that same winning mentality.