Holiday Classic finish gives a big boost to Highland boys basketball team
It may not have been the final game that the Highland boys basketball team wanted but the finish was ultimately a big lift for the Bulldogs.
Trey Koishor knocked down a free-throw with 3.3 seconds left and Highland withstood a desperation missed 3-pointer from St. Anthony’s Brock Fearday as the Bulldogs held for a 56-53 victory in the fifth-place game of the 10th Annual Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic Saturday at Effingham High School in Effingham.
“I told the guys that the bottom line was we found a way to finish and win the game,” Highland coach Deryl Cunningham said. “The credit goes to our team and also to end on a positive note, we were the lower seed in all four games.
The teams traded buckets in the first quarter as HHS led 12-10 heading into the second quarter.
A 7-0 second-quarter run keyed by a Grant Fleming triple and pair of free-throws pushed Highland to a commanding 29-17 lead at the half.
Fleming had his best game of the three-day tournament as he scored 12 of his game-high 22 points in the first half.
“He didn’t seem tired and we thought Grant was just doing an all-around good job and playing an all-around solid game, “ Cunningham said. “He played a very, very solid game.”
Highland continued to score in the third quarter as Fleming, Decker, and Garrin Stone knocked down shots to take a 38-28 lead into the fourth quarter.
St. Anthony, however, refused to go away, using a 10-5 run capped by a Nick Ruholl three-ball, cutting the gap to 48-46 with 2:26 left.
Fleming knocked down a pair of foul shots making it 55-50 but Fearday responded with a three cutting the lead to 55-53 with 18 seconds left.
After Koishor’s free throw, an HHS turnover gave Saint Anthony one more chance for the comeback but Fearday’s last-gasp three-ball attempt drew iron, and HHS held on for the win.
“It wasn’t picture perfect (at the end) but we did find a way to win and I told the guys it’s a better lesson through winning as opposed to losing the game,” Cunningham said. “I think if we had got on the bus and we didn’t get it done we all would have been sick about it.”
Jake Ottensmeieir and Braxdon Decker each added 10 points for HHS.
Fearday and Collin Westendorf paced St. Anthony with 19 and 16 points respectively.
Highland shot 52 percent from the floor and hit 7 of 10 shots from three-point land.
Highland (9-7) finished 3-1 overall in the tournament, losing only to tournament finalist Lincoln Way East in the championship quarterfinals 50-41 on Friday.