Highlands gave Newport Central Catholic a lot of “L” on Wednesday.
Junior Vinny Listerman’s 20 points helped the Bluebirds in a 71-53 “W” over Newport Central Catholic in the 36thDistrict semifinals on NewCath’s court.
The Bluebirds’ reward: two-time defending Ninth Region champion Newport, a 69-43 mercy-rule winner over Bellevue, for the trophy at 7 p.m. Friday.
Highlands head coach and Vinny’s dad Kevin Listerman is the preeminent authority on all things Vinny. When you ask Kevin if his son does anything he used to do at Covington Catholic and Northern Kentucky University, he chuckles.
“He’s different,” Kevin Listerman said. “He sees things a lot like a coach’s son should – just anticipating where guys are gonna move, seeing guys that are open before they are.”
Highlands’ second straight win (the Bluebirds edged Beechwood, 71-70 on Feb. 20) allowed Listerman and his dad, head coach Kevin Listerman, to forget about consecutive losses to Lloyd Memorial, Holy Cross, Montgomery County and Simon Kenton.
“We told our kids we were getting better, but were playing better teams,” Coach Listerman said.
Listerman’s points didn’t overshadow Finn Bouldin’s 18 points or Owen Ebert’s 10 points off the bench.
“Just hard work the whole time,” Bouldin said.
NewCath (12-17) said good-bye to five seniors – Ian Mann, Louie Collopy, Landon Kraft, Gabe Lyons and Vinne Petroze. Mann provided one last pleasant memory – his 21 points, including three 3-pointers, led all scorers.
Thoroughbreds coach Jake Luhn struggled to find the right words for a few seconds.
“First, its a tough evening,” Luhn said. “These seniors have worked incredibly hard. I’ve had them for four years; I’m hurting for them right now.”
Lyons’ 3 gave the Thoroughbreds a 19-18 after one quarter – a feel-good moment that lasted less than two minutes thanks to Listerman’s bucket and Tayden Lorenzen’s and-1 for a 23-19 Bluebird advantage.
“We’re playing on the road, so obviously it’s a tough environment to play,” Vinny Listerman said. “So we knew we were going to struggle just a little bit coming out of the gate.”
After Mann’s two free throws with 6.1 seconds left before halftime, for a moment, Lorenzen’s three-quarter court pass to Bouldin for the buzzer-beating score maybe made you think of Lorenzen’s dad, Highlands and University of Kentucky quarterback legend Jared Lorenzen.
“It’s something I’ve always been able to do,” Lorenzen said. “It’s something that I enjoy doing; it keeps me reminded that I play football.”
Coach Luhn recalled his son John Luhn’s bucket late in the third quarter because it closed Highlands’ (18-11) lead to 48-44.
Bouldin’s assist midway through the fourth quarter effectively ended the suspense. He drove the baseline right of the paint and found Nathan Rickard for the 5-footer.
When Newport beat Highlands, 73-69, on Jan. 29, the Wildcats’ Yamil Rondon led a quintet of double-figure scorers with 17 points, and Griffin Starks and James Turner grabbed 16 and 13 rebounds, respectively.
The Bluebirds countered with Tayden Lorenzen’s 20 points, Cale Harris’ 18, and Listerman’s 10.
“It should be a really good game,” Listerman the younger said. “(Newport’s) long, they’re physical, so we have to come ready to play.”
HIGHLANDS — 18-20-13-20 – 71
NEWPORT CC — 19-11-14-9 – 53
Highlands (70) — Bouldin 18, Rickard 8, Listerman 20, Messmer 8, Ebert 10, Lorenzen 7. 3-Pt. FG: 7 (Ebert 2, Messmer 2, Listerman 2, Bouldin). FT: 20-25. Fouls: 15. Fouled out: None.
Newport CC (53) — Luhn 6, Collopy 6, Kraft 1, Petroze 4, Mann 21, Lyons 5, Gearding 10. 3-Pt. FG: 6 (Mann 3, Gearding 2, Lyons). FT: 9-13. Fouls: 21. Fouled out: None.
Records: Newport Central Catholic 12-17, Highlands 18-11
Newport 69, Bellevue 43
The Wildcats reached a Lowe point.
Newport won its 11th straight over Bellevue thanks to Amontae Lowe’s 14 points and his cousin Adonaje “AJ” Lowe’s 10.
It took Newport a little while to straighten its offense – the Wildcats didn’t score until Rondon’s bucket with 6:12 to go in the first.
Credit Bellevue for hanging with the taller Wildcats. Especially center Arion Stuckey – he knocked down a fadeaway 3 at the first-quarter buzzer to cut Newport’s lead to 13-7.
The Wildcats had no trouble rebounding. A late first-quarter example: James Turner grabbed two offensive boards before his put-back layup with 17 seconds to go.
Newport’s (17-10) biggest problem was frigid free throw shooting; the Wildcats missed five of six in the second stanza’s opening 22 seconds and were only 3-of-10 for the night.
Griffin Starks atoned – a steal from Stuckey near half-court became a breakaway dunk.
A 12-4 run put the Wildcats safely ahead at 26-11. Rondon’s triple and two apiece from Amontae Lowe and DaShawn Anderson led the streak.
Bellevue finished at 10-20. Adam Kues led the Tigers with 14 points, Stuckey added 13, and Tristan Woodyard scored 12.
BELLEVUE — 7-7-18-11 – 43
NEWPORT — 13-25-25-6 – 69
Bellevue (43) — Kues 14, Specht 4, Woodyard 12, Stuckey 13. 3-Pt. FG: 3 (Stuckey, Kues, Woodyard). FT: 10-18. Rebounds: 18 (Kues 7, Woodyard 4). Fouls: 6. Fouled out: None. Turnovers: 19.
Newport (69) — Anderson 7, AJ Lowe 10, Turner 8, Starks 8, Llanes 2, Rondon 8, Lee 6, Hurry 6, Amontae Lowe 14. 3-Pt. FG: 10 (Amontae Lowe 4, Rondon 2, Turner 2, AJ Lowe, Anderson). FT: 3-10. Rebounds: 24 (Starks 7, AJ Lowe 7). Fouls: 16. Fouled out: None. Turnovers: 13.
Records: Bellevue 10-20, Newport 17-10.