Final

Nice little run for the Birds.

The Bluebirds came away from Union with another impressive 9th Region win.

 

Highlands moved to 8-9 overall and 5-3 in region play with its third straight win and fifth in the last six games. The Bluebirds have won three of the last four meetings against the Raiders (9-9).

 

"We've talked about learning how to close out games and learning how to win," said Kevin Listerman, Highlands Head Coach. "It wasn't pretty, but we've played a lot of games here in the last week against pretty good competition. For us to come in and find a way to win on the road was huge."

 

Highlands senior post Kyle Finfrock again led the way with 21 points. The Bluebirds saw three others reach double figures in Braden Posey, Carl Schoellman and Bryce Traylor with 19, 15 and 11 points respectively. Schoellman made five three-pointers in the second half.

 

"It feels amazing," Traylor said. "It brings smiles in the locker room. We're playing our game. We're having fun. That's what it's all about. Everybody on this team makes a huge contribution."

 

Bluebird senior Bradley Greene recorded three steals. The final one sealed the game in the second overtime with 12 seconds left. He hit two free throws to give Highlands a five-point lead.

 

Highlands made 19-of-27 free throws for 70 percent and Ryle made 21-of-28 for 75 percent. Senior guard Braden Cheesman led the Raiders with 17 points before fouling out in the second overtime. Senior guard Aaron O'Hara and sophomore forward Vince Rankin had 16 each.

 

"For the most party, we did a pretty good job," Listerman said. "They're big three had solid nights, but we didn't let any of them have huge nights so that's what gave us a chance to hang around even though we were struggling on offense for a long time."

 

Highlands plays at Dayton (4-12) on Saturday in another 36th District game. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

 

Fort Thomas Matters Sports: Grinding Out Victories

Showing that a little confidence can go a long way toward success. Keep working hard and just prepare for the next game on the schedule.

Nice win on the road and it seems some of the footballers are starting to find their rythmn. Schoellman has been on fire from behind the arc. Posey can get to the rim when he wants and Finfrock is Mr. Consistency. I really like the various contributions from the entire group. Brad Greene is a tough guard and has tremendous speed and strength. Nice to see their FT shooting is improving as well.

Has B. Angel been playing?

Has B. Angel been playing?

 

He just got cleared to play a week or so ago. Has been seeing some limited time the last few games.

Glad to hear.