Lampe and Winkler lead late Mater Dei rally to beat Highland

Over the first 17 minutes of play, the Highland Bulldogs looked like they were going to take control and run away from the Mater Dei Knights Tuesday night.

Nate Lampe and Garrick Winkler of Mater Dei had different ideas.

Lampe and Winkler kickstarted a 10-1 run, combining for three three-point baskets as the Knights turned a four-point lead into a 41-30 lead with 3:05 left in the third quarter, ultimately propelling them to a 57-47 nonconference victory at Highland High School.

Mater Dei, losers of three straight, improved to 3-5 with the road win. The strong wire-to-wire effort left Knights coach Cory Arentsen feeling like his club is trending up after losing a 51-49 nail-biter at Alton Marquette last Saturday.

“We were beating Marquette on Saturday and were up by 13 in the first quarter but in the second half we kind of played like we were losing almost every game and they led for like a minute twenty maybe and that was the difference in the game,” Arentsen said. “So, we’re figuring things out a little bit and it’s just nice to get on a winning track.”

Mater Dei jumped out to an early 10-2 lead in the first quarter behind treys from Winkler and Drake Wagner.

Highland (2-5) pulled even at 17-17 on a Jake Ottensmeier bucket from Trey Koishor just a minute into the second quarter.

A 6-2 run keyed by a Wagner lay in pushed the Knights back ahead 29-22 late in the quarter but the Bulldogs pulled within two, down only 29-27 at the half.

A 10-1 surge at three minutes into the third quarter keyed by triple from Lampe and Winkler, catapulted the Knights to an 11-point bulge and put them in control. “Three huge threes and they called time out and that put them on the ropes a little bit then,” Arentsen said. That third quarter was a such a great respone.”

Lampe had a big night with a game high 23 points while Wagner added 14 points and Winkeler chipped in 12 giving the Knights three scorers in double figures. “Nick had a really good game and our backcourt’s been doing well,” Arentsen said.

Highland pulled within 49-40 on Grant Fleming drive to the basket with 4:04 left and Highland turned up the pressure on defense with their backcourt but the Bulldogs could not sustain a comeback at the end.

The Bulldogs uneven effort was frustrating for Highland coach Deryl Cunningham as the Bulldogs dropped their third straight game in a week.

“We’re not getting enough ball movement and we’re not working as a unit,” Cunningham said. “We’ve got guys that can make plays here and there but we’re doing it cohesively right now. We’ve got a ways to go.

Offensive inconsistency hurt the Bulldogs throughout the night.

“We’re not putting together enough spurts and I know it’s early in the season but we’re not close to do anything consistent right now,” Cunningham said. We’ve just got to get back to work and practice every day.”

Ottensmeier led Highland with 19 points and Garrin Stone added 15 points.