Cochran, Crise connection bolsters Highlands in trip to WPIAL semifinals

By: Doug Gulasy
Monday, February 25, 2019 | 10:43 PM

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The lobs don’t stop when Luke Cochran and Johnny Crise spend time together away from basketball.

“We just know where each other is at,” Cochran said. “It’s as simple as I’m on the couch, and he throws me a pop.”

It works differently on the court but can be just as refreshing: Cochran, Highlands’ junior point guard, and Crise, the 6-foot-7 high-flyer, have a learned chemistry that make them a particularly lethal combination.

For the second consecutive season they helped lead the Golden Rams into the WPIAL semifinals, where the team will face New Castle at 8 p.m. Wednesday at North Allegheny.

Cochran and Crise fit like a glove. Cochran, the point guard, fits the role of floor general but also is a strong scorer himself, averaging a team-high 19.2 points. Crise, who averages 16.7 points, can dominate above and below the rim, putting up 51 points and 34 rebounds combined in Highlands’ playoff wins over Belle Vernon and Uniontown.

They’ve made the alley-oop their most dangerous weapon, getting national attention when the video of a Cochran crossover/Crise dunk combination appeared on the Instagram page for “House of Highlights” in January. The video has more than 843,000 views.

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Broken ankles to end the game. ?? (via D_martinka/Twitter)

A post shared by House of Highlights (@houseofhighlights) on Jan 19, 2019 at 2:33pm PST

“If I’m speaking from another team’s view, I would hate to play against us two because there’s not a selfish play that’s made,” Cochran said. “You never know where it’s going because neither one of us is going to get mad at the other for making a play. There’s just full, 100 percent faith. If I don’t throw the lob one play, the next play’s probably going to be a lob. You never know when it’s coming or where it’s going to be.”

Crise, who first dunked in middle school, set the tone early with big dunks in the wins over Belle Vernon and Uniontown. In the first-round against Belle Vernon, he had a putback slam and an alley-oop flush from Cochran in the first quarter. Against Uniontown, he flew down the lane and threw down a two-handed dunk for the first points of the game.

“I like starting the game like that,” Crise said. “It gets our guys hyped, it gets the crowd hyped and it just seems to flow our way.”

The chemistry Cochran and Crise have on the court developed over years of friendship. Their families are friends, and they began playing basketball together in their elementary years.

“From third grade, there was an in-house league and he couldn’t dunk like that and people weren’t as skilled, but we were always school friends and we always knew each other through basketball,” Cochran said. “I’d probably say fourth grade summer, fifth grade, is when we really started playing together all the time, and that’s when the connection started.”

Added Crise: “Either we were on the same team, or we were going against each other, making each other better.”

They’re on the same team now, leading a younger Highlands team than last season back to the semifinals. Cochran and Crise went from the underclassmen on an experienced group that had seniors like Shawn Erceg, Romello Freeman, Ryan Signorella and Christian Tanilli to the undisputed leaders.

“Last year’s group is an undescribable group because that was a legit brotherhood,” Cochran said. “Everything we did was off the court. We formed that late this year.

“We got off to a rough start, but we started coming along. That team last year, I’ve never seen anyone want it more, but I’m starting to see it this year, especially late when we were coming into the playoffs.”

The two leaders balance each other out. Where Crise brings the energy, Cochran provides the calmness. Both have been necessary for Highlands to claim a share of the Section 1-4A championship and win its first two playoff games.

“I know his strengths and weaknesses,” Crise said. “When he’s down, I know how to pick him up. I’ve always got his back. When I see someone holding his jersey, I tell him to come off my screen and get him open, give him the best opportunities.”

As dangerous a weapon as the lob is, it has backfired at times against Highlands during the postseason. Crise attempted a self alley-oop late in the Belle Vernon game, only to see it get stolen. They also misfired on a couple alley-oops against Uniontown.

“This kid is a kid that’s a freak of nature,” Cochran said. “I’ll put him up against anybody’s jumping abilities. If (someone asks), ‘Why would you throw that?’ I’m just like, ‘Because there’s nobody that’s challenging him. There’s nobody going up there and grabbing it as high as him.”

That confidence serves Highlands well, as the Golden Rams consider themselves underdogs in Class 4A: against Knoch during the second half of section play, against higher-seeded Uniontown in the quarterfinals, and certainly against No. 1 New Castle in the semis.

After losing in the semifinals last season to Franklin Regional, Cochran and Crise want no part of that Wednesday.

“Walking into a game with a chip on your shoulder, it gives you that mentality that you either win or you’re done,” Crise said. “There’s no other option.”

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