Holy Cross outscored Highlands 20-4 in the first quarter and never looked back.

 

HC Scoring-

 

Jakubowski 14

Seibert 13

Bezold 9

L Schrand 8

Scott 7

Barnes 6

Zimmerman 4

 

Highlands Scoring-

 

Kendall 11

Cain 9

Harris 8

Traylor 6

Greene 4

Weyer 2

Hebel 1

...

 

Did Ball not play for the Birds?

...

 

Did Ball not play for the Birds?

 

He did play.

Ball played but had a rough night shooting and did not score.

Good player. Just couldn't get shots to fall and looked frustrated most of the second half.

I was impressed with the Kendall kid off the bench. He brought energy and made some nice plays.

Tough night for the Birds on the road.

Tough night for the Birds on the road.

 

Putting it mildly there Q. Score was 30-4 at one point if memory serves me correctly. Highlands did not score a field goal until around the 5 minute mark of the 2nd quarter. Score at halftime was 40-17 after Bryce Traylor hit a heave from 3 at buzzer. Highlands comes out in second half and outscores the Indians by 3.

 

Some impressions and thoughts that I came away with. Nick Kendall did play pretty well last night, but he needs to play with that energy every night. Bryce Traylor showed some signs last night of having confidence to knock down some jumpers. Brad Greene hustled at both ends, just needs to not try and force things. Mitchell Cain needs to let the game come to him. Way too many forced shots. Big guys (Hebel and Finfrock) need to show they want to be out there. Both have ability, but need to play with more energy night in and night out. Both could be major factors the remainder of this year and next. This team is extremely poor at the defensive end. Giving up 60+ to Bellevue and then 40 in a half to Holy Cross is just not going to get it done. Defense is a pride thing and trusting that your teammates are there to help you out. This team just does not seem to be a cohesive unit at that end of the floor. When the pressure was turned up against Bellevue and last night against Holy Cross the results were more than acceptable. Good defense led to good looks at the offensive end. The puzzling thing to me is that this team showed a knack this summer for playing pretty good full and half court defense and it just has not carried over to this season.

 

There are 5 more regular season games to be played and then the tourney. It is time for seniors to show leadership and for the younger guys to relish the opportunities that they are given. The season has been a struggle, but there is time to right the ship with effort, heart, desire and playing as one unit and not 14 or 15 individuals.

Defense is definitely how much intestinal fortitude do you have. Effort......