William Herald was not in Highlands’ lineup this week.
With Herald and his 22 points a game in Fort Thomas with the flu, the Bluebirds nicely persevered – they won two of three to take fifth place at the Mason County Invitational Tournament at The Fieldhouse.
Highlands improved to 10-1. Henry Clay ended the Bluebirds’ eight-game winning streak Tuesday, 69-60, but they rebounded with two large victory margins: 91-53 over Augusta and 104-76 over Fleming County.
Against Henry Clay, The Bluebirds trailed 45-28 midway through the third quarter and 58-46 in the fourth, but they pulled to within 58-55 on Nathan Vinson’s bucket with 1:43 remaining.
Brayden Moeves led Highlands with 16 points, Seth Ryan was next with 11, and Brody Benke added 10. Vinson snared seven rebounds.
Wednesday and Thursday were much better.
The Bluebirds basically morphed into a flock of large Andean Condors in Wednesday’s dispatching of Augusta, 91-53 behind Brayden Moeves’ 20 points (including four 3-pointers) and Carson Class’ 18. Thursday was a 3-palooza – and not just because Highlands rolled past Fleming County, 104-76, drained 21 of 33 from distance (63.7%) and got 30 points from Moeves and 27 from Benke.
Highlands coach Kevin Listerman understandably smiled.
“This group can shoot it,” he said Thursday. “We’ve gone through stretches where we’ve shot it pretty well … the best part is, our best scouting report shooter (Herald) didn’t even make the trip.”
“I believe we’ve had a couple nights like that, but definitely not this season,” Benke said Thursday.
Highlands struggled early against Augusta, trailing 18-12 in the first quarter. Listerman called a timeout.
“We didn’t have our energy about us, and we were creating some loose balls and rebounds that we just weren’t collecting,” he said Wednesday. “We took the timeout and we talked about refocusing and playing with the energy that we normally play with and making those effort plays.”
From there, Highlands’ offense became an avian avalanche. Class’ four points, Moeves’ five and Ryan’s two put the Bluebirds ahead to stay, 23-21, and the Bluebirds took off to a 51-29 halftime lead.
And the Bluebirds’ defense? Stingy – it limited Augusta to eight points in the second quarter and just 24 in the second half.
Highlands’ Hank Shick returned from a sprained ankle. He scored just two points against Henry Clay but increased that sixfold to 12 against Augusta.
Listerman’s son, freshman Vinny Listerman, scored three points in his varsity debut against Augusta, but he added 10 assists; his game is different from his dad’s days at Covington Catholic and Northern Kentucky University.
“He’s a little more tactical, a little more skilled,” Coach Listerman said. “He’s got a great mind for the game; it’s blessing to be able to coach him and coach all these guys.”
The Fleming County win was Highlands’ third triple-figure total this season. The others: 102-75 Nov. 29, at Scott and 101-85 over Campbell County at home on Dec. 13.
For a little more of the first two minutes against Fleming County, you might have wondered if Highlands could score from the AA Highway.
In order, Moeves, Benke, Vinson, Listerman and Moeves again fired long, far ones. Benke and Hank Shick hit 3s, and Highlands led 34-24 after eight minutes.
Highlands hits the road next week. The Bluebirds face McCracken County in the South Oldham Christmas Tournament beginning Tuesday in Crestwood.
