Ottensmeier helps Highland to big MVC win against rival Triad
Highland’s Jake Ottensmeier had a surprisingly quiet first half against archrival Triad on Friday night.
In a slow-paced, grinding defensive battle, Ottensmeier was held scoreless by the Knights’ defense in the first 16 minutes of play.
Thanks to some strong outside shooting, Ottensmeier came alive in the third quarter helping the Bulldogs overcome a slow first-half start and a late Triad run for a 39-37 Mississippi Valley Conference victory at Rich Mason Gym at Triad High School.
Highland (16-12, 6-2 in MVC play) picked up its fourth win in five games and swept the season with Triad with the win in the process, leaving Ottensmeier and the Bulldogs feeling very satisfied.
“It’s great for sure (to get two wins) and I’m gonna miss it for sure but it’s awesome coming out of here 2-0 this year,” Ottensmeier said.
Both teams struggled offensively in the first half against tough main-to-defense to get quality shots and quality possessions.
A pair of Carter Holthaus free-throws rushed HHS out to a 12-6 with 3:26 left in the second quarter but a pair of Ethan Stewart free throw and a Drew Winslow free-throw in the final minute of the first half cut the Bulldogs lead to 12-9 at the break.
“We just told the guys that no matter what stay with it (on defense),” Highland coach Deryl Cunningham said. “Stay with it, don’t give into it and I understand what Jake goes through, sometimes it takes a little while to figure them out because they’re bigger and they’re long and they close up lanes so fast and it’s really tough.”
Highland adjusted in the third quarter and Ottensmeier heated up quickly, The Bulldogs standout senior guard keyed a 9-5 run with a pair of three-balls for a 21-14 lead with 3:49 left in the third quarter. Ottensmeier’s third triple of the quarter extended the lead to 26-16. He ended the quarter with nine points as HHS carried a 10-point cushion into the fourth quarter.
“We started running some plays and setting screens for me and my teammates helped me get open and the third quarter helped us a lot,” Ottensmeier said. “It felt good and it took some stress off because we’re an offensive-minded team and when we don’t score, we struggle a little bit but when we got it going a little bit, we had control of the game.”
Cunningham was glad to see Ottensmeier get his shot going in the third quarter. “We ran those plays for Jake and give him credit, I’ve been on Jake about hey you’re a senior and we need you to do it in big games and he’s responded in Collinsville and tonight at Triad and he’s such a competitor that you have to challenge your guys that way,” Cunningham said.
Ottensmeier led the Bulldogs with 13 points. Braxdon Decker added 7 points.
Down 12 in the fourth quarter, Triad (17-9, 4-4) stormed back into that thanks to a 12-4 run capped by a Drew Winslow driving layup which cut it to 36-33 with 35 seconds left.
The Knights had a chance to cut it to two with 9.9 seconds left but Winslow missed a pair of foul shots and a Garrin Stone free-throw at the other end pushed the Highland lead to 39-34.
Winslow drained a three-ball at the buzzer but it was too little too late for Triad.
Despite the loss, Triad coach Jeff Guidry praised his team’s performance.
“You’ve just got to make shots and that’s beyond our control,” Triad coach Jeff Guidry said. “I told our guys we really have nothing to be ashamed of. We executed our plan and they struggled to score and at the end of the day shots just didn’t fall for us and quite frankly I think we outplayed them. I told the guys that was the first time we’d lost to Highland where I came in and I wasn’t disappointed in them because they did everything, we asked of them.”
Stewart and Winslow paced Triad with 10 points each. Thompson chipped in 9 points.