If Holy Cross had a motto for this game, it would be “Next man up.”
Or, in this case, “Next men up.”
Missing their two leading scorers—Luke Arlinghaus (13.4 ppg) and Nate Rominger (12.7 ppg)—the Indians dug deep, battling their way to a 68-62 victory over Highlands Friday night at the Finn Activity Center.
Whether it was senior William McElheney, freshman Amir Henderson, or any other player, everyone stayed ready when—and if—their number was called.
“Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready,” Holy Cross coach Ricardo Johnson said. “Our guys persevered tonight. They were ready to go and produce at a high level. As an older team, we handled the adversity.”
Highlands, too, faced a challenge of their own, missing a key player in Tayden Lorenzen, their second leading scorer (11.9 ppg) and leading rebounder (6.2 rpg).
“It hurt us more in our rotation,” Highlands coach Kevin Listerman said. “He’s usually the guy that can get us some tough baskets when it gets physical. He’s been a bit of security blanket because he passes so well, and at times we were out of sync, so I felt like in those moments we especially missed him.”
But that didn’t stop them early on.
The Bluebirds controlled the tempo and jumped out to an early 15-0 lead to start the game. However, the Indians quickly adapted, turned the tables, and ultimately took control.
“We got our heads out of our butts and woke up,” McElheney said. “It took us a while, but we calmed down. I think everyone was nervous because we had our two guys out, but we were good after that.”
As one of the three seniors on Holy Cross, McElheney knew exactly what needed to be done to get back in the game—whether it was leading the team with 22 points, bringing the ball up the floor, or crashing the boards.
“It starts with me having trust in my teammates,” McElheney said. “They’re knocking down shots, making it easy for me to get to the rim and score. It’s just a lot of fun. These are the guys I grew up with, and we’re great friends, so we have all the trust in the world in each other.”
The Indians closed the gap to 19-15 after the first quarter and even tied the game in the second. Still, they trailed 36-31 at the break.
Who’s turn was it now?
Enter another senior, Gavin Goetz.
Goetz seized the moment in the third quarter, scoring 11 points after halftime as the Indians took the lead and extended it to 10. The Bluebirds made a late push, cutting the deficit to 50-45 heading into the final quarter.
“We let it get slowed down,”Listerman said. “That’s where they’re at their best. We answered, we had some really good shots, we just didn’t finish.”
But the Bluebirds couldn’t overcome the deficit.
A couple of Aiden Urlage triples sealed the deal for Holy Cross, as the Indians avoided another close loss on back-to-back nights.
Highlands was led in scoring by Finn Bouldin with 20 points, Nathan Rickard with 18 and Vinny Listerman with 12.
For Highlands (16-9), after a loss to Lloyd Memorial earlier in the week, this marks their second consecutive defeat—the first time they’ve experienced back-to-back losses this season.
They’ll have a short rest before hosting Montgomery County, Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Holy Cross (14-10) will have some time to get healthy before their next matchup at home against Landmark Christian School (OH) Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Photo gallery below, provided by Charles Bolton:
INDIANS 68, BLUEBIRDS 62
HOLY CROSS — 15-16-19-18— 68
HIGHLANDS — 19-17-9-17—62
Scoring
HOLY CROSS (68) — McElheney 22, Goetz 12, Urlage 12, Gabbard 9, Henderson 7, Hunt 6
HIGHLANDS (62) — Bouldin 20, Rickard 18, Listerman 12, Ebert 8, Messmer 3, Harris 1
Game Stats
3-Pointers: Holy Cross 6, Highlands 8
Free Throws: Holy Cross 14/22, Highlands 8/13
Fouls: Holy Cross 15, Highlands 18
Records: Holy Cross 14-10, Highlands 16-9
