Highlands Hoops Drops 89 on Bracken County

Bluebirds Move to 5-0 on Season

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham. Highlands sophomore forward Oliver Harris (13) and junior guard Evan Rom (4) get in defensive position in a recent game.

The Highlands Bluebirds boys basketball team (5-0 overall) fell one point shy of another 90-point game with an 89-66 win over the Bracken County Polar Bears (1-5) in the John Turner Classic at Newport High on Saturday.

The Bluebirds made 34-of-71 shots for 48 percent including 6-of-16 from three-point range for 38 percent. Highlands also hit 15-of-20 free throws for 75 percent and grabbed 47 rebounds.

"Our kids were patient. They took what was available," said Kevin Listerman, Highlands Head Coach. "We stayed aggressive. We were able to finish enough shots to build a nine-point lead at halftime. I thought in the fourth quarter we did a good job of guarding them and putting them away."

Highlands junior point guard Sam Vinson scored 28 points to lead the way making 10-of-11 free throws. Junior Luke Muller and sophomore Zach Barth scored 16 each with sophomore Oliver Harris and senior Hunter Ahlfeld scoring eight each. Vinson had a double-double with 12 rebounds and added eight assists, seven blocked shots and five steals.

"It was very important (Saturday) because we didn't shoot the ball great, but because we had so many guys that were so versatile, we could get to the basket whenever we wanted to score pretty easily," Harris said. "It shows how unselfish our team is and how much we trust each other to do our jobs."

Highlands had 1.34 points per possession to .95 for Bracken County and tallied 19 fouls, 19 assists, just four turnovers, eight blocked shots and six steals.

The Polar Bears saw freshman Garrett Reynolds lead the way with 13 points. Eighth grader Blake Reed and seventh grader Cayden Reed scored 12 each.

Bracken County made 25-of-63 shots for 40 percent including 4-of-16 three-point tries for 25 percent and 12-of-20 free throws for 60 percent. The Polar Bears also had 40 rebounds, 19 fouls, five assists, 13 turnovers, two blocked shots and one steal.

Highlands last played Bracken County on Jan. 9, 2014 in Fort Thomas. The Bluebirds won that game by a 72-48 score.

Highlands plays host to the Dayton (1-5) on Monday. Game time is 7:30 p.m.