Undefeated boys high school basketball teams in Northern Kentucky are no more.
Coming in at 10-0, their best start since the 2019/2020 season, Highlands was finally knocked off, falling 68-60 to Ryle on Saturday afternoon in Union.
The loss came just days after the Bluebirds returned from the 31st Annual Hilton Sandestin Invitational Tournament in Freeport, Florida, where they went a perfect 3-0. Despite the undefeated record, Highlands knew there were still areas to clean up.
“Over 30 games, you’re going to lose somewhere along the line,” Highlands head coach Kevin Listerman said. “They exposed some things we’ve been talking about. With the travel, we haven’t had a lot of time to practice those details. Coach Dorning had Ryle ready to go. They executed and finished more plays than we did.”
Ryle was well aware of the Bluebirds’ hot streak and prepared accordingly.
PHOTOS: Slideshow provided by Charles Bolton
“At the top of every game plan, we list the team and their record,” Ryle head coach Nick Dorning said. “We want our kids as prepared as humanly possible, and we pride ourselves on knowing everything a team is going to do or could do. My assistants were unbelievable in this one.”
The Raiders delivered a complete team performance, placing all five starters in double figures. AJ Davis led the way with 16 points, Anthony Coppola added 15, Grace Nsuti finished with 12, and Blake Broz and Holden Smith chipped in 11 apiece.
Highlands was paced by big man Tayden Lorenzen, who scored a team high 19 points off the bench. Vinny Listerman added 13, while Nathan Rickard finished with 12.
Physicality defined the night. With just seven combined three pointers, the contest became a battle inside, particularly between Lorenzen and Nsuti.
“He’s a great guy to play against,” Nsuti said. “We were talking during the game, having great conversations.”
Filling the role of a traditional center, Nsuti made his presence felt on the glass, unofficially pulling down double-digit rebounds.
“I focus a lot on rebounding, offensively and defensively,” Nsuti said. “When you’re the tallest guy on the court, you’ve got to go get the boards.”
Ryle led 19-17 after the first quarter and 31-30 at halftime. The Raiders then made a key adjustment, closing the third quarter on a 9-0 run to take a 49-38 lead. Highlands managed just eight points in the period.
Dorning credited the team’s adjustments to a philosophy he learned from former Duke men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski.
“I kind of live by this motto that I heard him say one time,” Dorning said. “You come in with a plan of attack, then you make adjustments based on what the game throws at you.”
Ryle stretched the advantage to as many as 12 in the fourth quarter, but Lorenzen scored nine of the Bluebirds’ 22 points in the final eight minutes to cut the deficit to five. Nsuti sealed the win moments later, punctuating his double-double with a slam dunk.
“We’ve been down three or four times this year and we usually respond, but we didn’t this time,” Listerman said. “We didn’t hit our normal run until kind of late in the fourth, and at that point there wasn’t enough time to really make a hard push to flip the score. I thought we had some great looks. If they go, the game changes, and they just didn’t.”
The victory marked Ryle’s first win over Highlands since 2016 and the first during the current staff’s tenure.
The Raiders (5-6) will be back in action Tuesday at Beechwood at 6:30 p.m.
The Bluebirds (10-1) will look to bounce back the same night against Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy at 7:30 p.m.
RAIDERS 68, BLUEBIRDS 60
RYLE — 19-12-18-19 — 68
HIGHLANDS — 17-13-8-22 — 60
Scoring
Ryle (68) — Davis 16, Coppola 15, Nsuti 12, Broz 11, Smith 11, Colemire 3
Highlands (60) — Lorenzen 19, Listerman 13, Rickard 12, Ebert 9, Messmer 3, Bouldin 2, Harris 2
Game Stats
3-Pointers: Ryle 3, Highlands 4
Free Throws: Ryle 13/16, Highlands 13/19
Fouls: Ryle 15, Highlands 14
Records: Ryle 5-6, Highlands 10-1