Surprised nobody has posted this final yet. Watch the replay at nkysports.com under our webcasts link.

 

Sophomore Houliston led all scorers with 22. Very good looking player.

 

Newcath led by 16 in the third and Highlands cut it to 1 at 55-54 with around 3 mins to go. Game came down to a last second three by Lewis that was blocked and went out of bounds under the rim off Highlands. Hightchew got the ball in bounds and dribbled the 1 second off the clock.

 

Towles did a great job at both ends, single handedly leading Highlands back with his rebounding on defense and offensive put backs at the other end. I believe he finished with 13 and Witte had 10 or 11.

 

For Newcath, Ryan had a "quiet" 11, as did Hightchew. Pretty sure Beuter, Seibert, and McDonald all finished with double figures as well. Miller was very good on the boards.

 

Newcath doesn't play very smart at times. Up 3 with a little over 2 mins to go, they had a player take a quick 3 rather than running clock off. Led to a basket by Witte at the other end to make it a one point game. Brannen had to be furious.

 

Breds almost gave it away by not making three straight one and one's at the end but defense stepped up when they needed it.

 

Hard to believe this Highlands team is 6-11 now. Nice bounce back win by the Breds and great crowd on hand for a Tues night game.

Numbers:

 

Highlands- Houliston 22, Towles 13, Witte 10, Lewis 7, Turner 4

 

Newcath- Hightchew 11, Beuter 11, Ryan 11, McDonald 10, Miller 6, Seibert 6, Schulte 2, Morse 2

Breds hit 11 straight FT's at one point. Birds were 6-14 from the line. Houliston with 22 off the bench, very nice game. Very strong showing by the Birds on the road. Credit the Breds for keeping their lead by hitting FT's.

Highlands has some pretty good young talent. Houliston, True, Lewis, and Witte is a solid nucleus to build around next year.

 

On the flip side though, the Birds youth shows at times. A lot of unforced turnovers tonight.

 

Still think Newcath forces too many 3's at times. They'd be a lot better team if they'd get back to running offense and being patient. Not a popular style or fun to watch but it has worked for years. Why not stick with it when you have 5 guys 6'4 or bigger?

Surprised nobody has posted this final yet. Watch the replay at nkysports.com under our webcasts link.

 

Sophomore Houliston led all scorers with 22. Very good looking player.

 

Newcath led by 16 in the third and Highlands cut it to 1 at 55-54 with around 3 mins to go. Game came down to a last second three by Lewis that was blocked and went out of bounds under the rim off Highlands. Hightchew got the ball in bounds and dribbled the 1 second off the clock.

 

Towles did a great job at both ends, single handedly leading Highlands back with his rebounding on defense and offensive put backs at the other end. I believe he finished with 13 and Witte had 10 or 11.

 

For Newcath, Ryan had a "quiet" 11, as did Hightchew. Pretty sure Beuter, Seibert, and McDonald all finished with double figures as well. Miller was very good on the boards.

 

Newcath doesn't play very smart at times. Up 3 with a little over 2 mins to go, they had a player take a quick 3 rather than running clock off. Led to a basket by Witte at the other end to make it a one point game. Brannen had to be furious.

 

Breds almost gave it away by not making three straight one and one's at the end but defense stepped up when they needed it.

 

Hard to believe this Highlands team is 6-11 now. Nice bounce back win by the Breds and great crowd on hand for a Tues night game.

 

Sorry would have done it, however I have 7 NewCath sophomore girls spending the night that are going to the All "A" in the morning and I had to feed them once I got home. I sent a text when the score was 55-54 and there was 1:23 left in the game, not that it matters.

 

However your review is spot on. When you say, "NewCath doesn't play very smart at times" you would be 1000% correct. I was left scratching my head at some of the things I saw. I will say Hightchew played "under control" tonight for the most part. The Breds better learn how to hit the glass and make FT's when it counts. IMO they are very fortunate to come away with the victory tonight. Congrats to the 'Birds for not giving up.

Agreed, Lawnboy.

 

Hightchew got 9 of his 11 from the charity stripe but it was because he attacked the rim and played smart.

 

Also...Brannen needs to get away from pressing. Highlands press offense was ran to perfection tonight. 2 passes and the ball was in the front court. Towles and Witte both did a great job attacking the middle and making the proper passes.

 

Newcath was indeed lucky to get the W. Birds played hard and never gave up. It was a game of runs. Birds had an 11-0 and 13-0 run in the game while Newcath had two 8-0 runs.

Breds hit 11 straight FT's at one point. Birds were 6-14 from the line.

 

Ball.

Game.

Ball.

Game.

Sad but true. The refs made some iffy calls, but they made them both ways. Highlands had every chance in the world to win this one, but just couldn't quite get there. Love watching Highlands play at NewCath, but I'm not sure I've ever seen them win up there. Still one of my favorite places to watch a game. It's a great atmosphere and it's always great to get out into the fresh air after the game.

Houliston is a sophomore but played like a veteran tonight. He has a knack for scoring the basketball. They have a nice soph group up There if They can keep them playing the next couple years. I also liked the way Nick True has been playing coming off the bench. Another 10th grader with a lot of upside is Brendan Buten. He came in and provided tenacious defense on Beuter all over the floor when New got in foul trouble.

 

Towles Did a nice job in the paint snagging several offensive boards and taking care of the ball when he was fed.

 

NCC has a lot of length but They really don't play an aggressive style outside of Morse and occasionally Miller.

 

Hightchew and Beuter clinched it with their FT shooting but that's to be expected. Guards should make their FT's at hone.

 

One thing I was quite surprised by was the Birds opening the game in a zone when They have played man 99% of their games this year. I think that really hurt being down 8-0 in the first 2 min. However, Good timeout and switch to man allowed them to string 11 straight points themselves.

 

Good to meet ya Lawnboy take care of that sweet 16 princess and always Good to chat hoops with Walter. I haven't seen the replay yet but looking forward to it at some point here soon.

Game a little closer than I expected. Sounds like Highlands is getting better with every game. Not to count anyone out, but should be a great potential rematch in the district. Where is their district played at this year and when is the draw? Anyone?

Districts at Dayton draw is first week in february. The birds definitely wanted that game last night more than the Breds did the distric rematch if there is 1 will be heated.

Typically I like NewCath's style but not so much of late. Their impatient one and done is annoying. Was way more impressed by how Highlands is coming along after their slow season start. Can't say that they'll ever achieve greatly enough this year, but they are starting to show that they're finding themselves and could prove to play spoiler come post season. The Breds were very lucky to come away with the 'W' but the Birds were the better team on the court. Also impressed with Towels' senior leadership. In the past I didn't think that he had much in the ways of basketball prowess but he's showing great work ethic and strength that's nothing to sneeze at. Interesting year in the 9th... can't wait to see how it all lands. The Breds have great potential and still have time to turn their ship around, but it's puzzling to me what's taking them so long.

Typically I like NewCath's style but not so much of late. Their impatient one and done is annoying. Was way more impressed by how Highlands is coming along after their slow season start. Can't say that they'll ever achieve greatly enough this year, but they are starting to show that they're finding themselves and could prove to play spoiler come post season. The Breds were very lucky to come away with the 'W' but the Birds were the better team on the court. Also impressed with Towels' senior leadership. In the past I didn't think that he had much in the ways of basketball prowess but he's showing great work ethic and strength that's nothing to sneeze at. Interesting year in the 9th... can't wait to see how it all lands. The Breds have great potential and still have time to turn their ship around, but it's puzzling to me what's taking them so long.

 

I hear what you are saying and agree with some of your comments. Do you think NCC is just down a bit because they lost the All A Region? I would think that was a big goal of theirs. Prior to the All A I thought they were playing their best basketball of the year. They beat Boone, Campbell County and CovCath all in a weeks time. That's a great week for anyone.

I hear what you are saying and agree with some of your comments. Do you think NCC is just down a bit because they lost the All A Region? I would think that was a big goal of theirs. Prior to the All A I thought they were playing their best basketball of the year. They beat Boone, Campbell County and CovCath all in a weeks time. That's a great week for anyone.

 

Granted tough loss in the All A for NCC but they did win last night! Give Highlands credit for a great effort and give NCC credit for a hard fought victory against an improving team. This is another rivalry where you can throw out records and who is the better team. Toss the ball in the air and you will get 32 minutes of intensity from both schools. Almost made the trip up on the hill to see this one. Wish I did.

Granted tough loss in the All A for NCC but they did win last night! Give Highlands credit for a great effort and give NCC credit for a hard fought victory against an improving team. This is another rivalry where you can throw out records and who is the better team. Toss the ball in the air and you will get 32 minutes of intensity from both schools. Almost made the trip up on the hill to see this one. Wish I did.

 

Agreed. Rivalry games are always fun to watch and past records don't mean a thing.