Ryle’s boys basketball team’s eight game winning streak came to an end on Thursday night in Union.
Highlands knocked off the Raiders, 65-52, in one of their more significant wins of
the season.
“This is a very big win.” Bluebirds head coach, Kevin Listerman said “They’ve had a
solid season and won some tough games against really tough opponents. We talked
to our kids about being mentally locked in and showing toughness, and we
answered all those bells tonight. To come in and get this one on the road was a big step in the right direction.”
The Bluebirds fought fire with fire, matching the physicality of Ryle.
“We always say fast and physical.” Ryle head coach, Nicholas Dorning said “When
teams match that intensity, you have to keep it and stay poised when other teams
are getting physical with you. They were the aggressor. They took it to us and that
falls on me.”
Highlands was shorthanded without starter Vinny Listerman out due to an injury,
forcing the Bluebirds to use their bench. Dominic Gregory and Lincoln Hicks stepped up in his absence.
“We’ve got a lot of confidence in our bench, especially Dominic Gregory and Lincoln
Hicks.” Coach Listerman said. “They’ve been our sixth and seventh man, but Lincoln
got to start tonight and gave us an offensive boost. Dominic did a good job
defensively and his ability to handle the ball against pressure in key situations was
huge.”
The leadership of the Bluebirds’ upperclassmen was essential. The two leading
scores coming into the game, Brayden Moeves and Nathan Vinson combined for 44
points, Vinson with 25 and Moeves had 19. Hank Shick also shot the ball well from
behind the arc, hitting three treys. He finished with 11.
“I just looked for my shot when I saw an opening,” Vinson said. “I got my teammates
to set me a screen and they got me open. The rebounding was huge too. They’re a
physical team. We needed to get those rebounds to win the game and we did.”
It was neck and neck for the first half. Ryle held the lead 15-12 at the end of the first
quarter, but by the end of the second, the Bluebirds had taken their first lead of the
game, 28-26, into the locker room.
Highlands never lost the lead again, even widening the margin to 12 in the third
quarter.
“We lost our poise a little bit.” Dorning said. “We lost our swagger and as a head
coach, that’s on me. I’ve got to get my guys settled down and even get myself settled
down and stay locked in. We’ve got to make sure that when we come out in the third
quarter, that we’re in a better spot.”
Trailing 47-36 heading into the final eight minutes, the Raiders did get the deficit
down to four in the final minutes, but the Bluebirds closed the game out with seven
free throws.
Highlands goes to 13-10, their fourth win in five games. Up next is a district road
game against Bellevue, Friday night at 7:30 p.m.
Ryle will go back to the drawing board, after moving to 14-6.
Logan Verax led the team with 19 points and Landon Lorms was right behind with 16.
A tough task is ahead as they head to Park Hills for a meeting with Covington
Catholic, Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
BLUEBIRDS 65, RAIDERS 52
HIGHLANDS — 12-16-19-18 — 65
RYLE — 15-11-10-16 — 52
Scoring
HIGHLANDS (65) — Vinson 25, Moeves 19, Shick 11, Hicks 6, Rickard 3, Gregory 1
RYLE (52) — L. Verax 19, Lorms 16, E. Smith 6, Reynolds 5, Coppola 2, Davis 2, DeGroff
2
Game Stats
3-Pointers: Highlands 4, Ryle 2
Free Throws: Highlands 19/24, Ryle 16/26
Fouls: Highlands 20, Ryle 16
Records: Highlands 13-10, Ryle 14-7
