It’s a bit of a different Highlands team this year.
You’re not going to see a 3-point barrage on a nightly basis like in years past.
So the Bluebirds are adjusting to attacking the basket more often and not settling from deep. It started off on the right foot on Tuesday night in a 75-68 victory over Scott in Fort Thomas.
The Bluebirds got to the free throw line 38 times in the victory, hitting 28 of those attempts.
“You got to play to your strengths,” Bluebirds coach Kevin Listerman said. “We like to shoot the three, but if we can’t, then we’re trying to attack the rim and we’ve got guys that we feel can get there. Sometimes it’s just a matter of finding the right spacing and the right movement to create the mismatch and the angles.”
Nathan Vinson led the way with 26 points, getting to the line 14 times. Brayden Moeves got going after a slow first half, scoring 16 in a pivotal third quarter in which the Bluebirds outscored the Eagles 25-16. Moeves finished with 21.
“Brayden is capable of doing that,” Listerman said. “We did a very good job of getting the look we wanted. Moeves was able to get free and knocked a couple down, which was huge. And then I really thought our defense in the third quarter helped us flip that game.”
Scott entered the third up 28-27, but the quarter ended with a 52-44 Highlands advantage.
“Highlands had a big third quarter,” Eagles coach Steve Fromeyer said. “We had talked the last couple of days about defensively that we couldn’t lose by the three. We had some misreads that ended in threes and runs are a hell of a thing, especially when you’re at home with a nice crowd. That quarter bit us. We won two quarters, tied the first quarter and they kicked our butts in the third and that was the difference in the game.”
The Eagles could get no closer than five in the fourth, opening their season with a loss. They got to the line just 14 times and hit nine of those attempts.
“We don’t shoot it well enough to settle for shots and I felt we settled, especially there in the third quarter,” Fromeyer said. “We have to put ourselves in a better position. We left maybe 16 points at the rim, we’ve got to make those in there. That’s the difference in the game, not the free throw discrepancy. I thought the crew called a good game and points of emphasis are going to be emphasized and we put a lot of hands on dribblers, a lot of bodies on dribblers and we can’t hide from that.”
Scott did get balanced scoring as seven different players recorded at least five points, Connor Griffin leading the way with 16 points, Xarek Sarakatsannis with 15 and Dylan Giffen with 14.
“In reality, we can play nine guys consistently. We’ve got a couple guys that need to solidify some stuff and when we get some balance there that will be more,” Fromeyer said.
After Vinson’s 26 and Moeves’ 21, Vinny Listerman was on the attack in the second half and finished with 14 points for the Bluebirds. Listerman got to the line eight times in the second half.
“Vinny knows and we’ve been preaching to him at practice that we need him to be aggressive that way looking to attack the rim,” Kevin Listerman said. “He’s got really good court vision, but sometimes he needs to look to the rim and finish and thought he did that with a greater sense of confidence in the third and fourth tonight.”
Highlands still knocked down seven triples, Moeves leading the way with four made from deep, three of them during a personal 11-2 run to open the second half.
The Bluebirds return to action on Thursday at Boone County, a team that knocked off district rival Newport Central Catholic off by 13 on Monday.
Scott hosts Bracken County on Friday.
BLUEBIRDS 75, EAGLES 68
SCOTT — 15-13-16-24 — 68
HIGHLANDS — 15-12-25-23 — 75
Scoring
Scott (68) — Griffin 16, Sarakatsannis 15, Giffen 14, Eten 7, Huelsman 6, Coleman 5, Evans 5
Highlands (75) — Vinson 26, Moeves 21, Listerman 14, Shick 7, Yelton 5, Rickard 2
Free Throws: Scott 9/14, Highlands 28/38
3-Pointers made: Scott 3, Highlands 7
Records: Scott 0-1, Highlands 1-0