Boys Basketball: Defense keys Bulldogs’ win over Warriors

After Wesclin caught fire to hit four 3-pointers and ring up 20 first-quarter points, the Bulldogs ratcheted up the intensity on the defensive end. Highland stifled the Warriors to four points in the second stanza, and 12 points combined in the middle two frames, to rally for a home victory.

“They can shoot and they battle, and we knew they would battle for 32 minutes, but our kids stepped up and did some things,” said Highland coach Matt Elledge, whose team won its fourth game in a row to shoot to 5-2. “Our offense was a little sluggish tonight and I didn’t think we executed very well but we executed well enough. I thought the kids did a pretty good job defensively and playing for 32 minutes. I thought even in the first quarter we contested their shots, but they hit some shots with us in their face. But we were not doing a good job of guarding before they were getting ready for their shot. So, we’ve got to shore up a few things.”

Wesclin (2-3) senior guard Jared Steenbergen drilled three 3-pointers and senior Jared Timmermann had the other trey and added seven points to help the Warriors build a lead as big as seven points (13-6) and twice at six (13-6 and 15-9).

But Highland senior guard Luke Thies rattled off 10 straight points to help keep his team within striking distance and forcing Wesclin to have to settle for just a 20-16 advantage after eight minutes of play.

Highland’s defense contested everything in the second quarter, forcing Wesclin to fall out of rhythm offensively and go ice cold on its shooting, which allowed the Bulldogs to not only catch up, but blow by the Warriors.

To open the second quarter, HHS senior guard Brode Portell drilled a 3-pointer form the corner and scored on a stick-back and fellow senior guard Austin Elledge followed by nailing a trifecta from the top of the arc to propel the Bulldogs to their first lead — the game’s first and final lead change — at 24-22 with 5:49 remaining in the first half.

Thies’ runner down the lane made it 28-24 with 2:37 left in the second stanza and Highland never let Wesclin make it a one-possession game again.

Backed by Elledge’s eight points in the second quarter, Highland widened the gap to 33-24 by the break.

Late in the third frame, the Bulldogs matched the game’s biggest lead at 41-30.

However, the Warriors were far from done and whittled the deficit all the way down to 45-41 as senior guard Darrell Combs scored seven points in a row, capped off by a 3-pointer with 4:51 to play in the game.

But Highland sank 10-of-14 free throws the rest of the way to seal the deal.

The Bulldogs owned the glass throughout the contest after hauling down 29 rebounds, 11 of them coming on the offensive end.

Thies and Elledge matched one another for game-high honors with 19 points apiece. Thies also grabbed seven boards and added two assists and one steal.

Also for the Bulldogs, senior Will Michael yanked down a game-best eight rebounds to go with four points, senior Brode Portell scored seven points, seniors Chris Dickman and Justin Twyford each added four points, senior Will Greenwald had three points and sophomore Stephen Schniers had one point.

Wesclin 6-foot-7 senior center Jake Stephen led his team with 15 points while Steenbergen added 12 points and Timmermann had 11 points for the Warriors.

“We controlled the boards well and I thought we took the big kid (Stephens) out of the game for the most part,” Matt Elledge said. “He ended up with 15 but in the first half we held him to six. And we were worrying about defending him and defending their 3-point shooting as well. So I am pleased with our defense and our effort tonight.”

Next up for Highland is hosting Triad on Friday night before heading to Centralia on Saturday night.

This story was originally published December 16, 2015 at 5:47 AM with the headline "Boys Basketball: Defense keys Bulldogs’ win over Warriors."