Finucan brothers lead Knoch to overtime win over Highlands

By: Jerin Steele
Tuesday, January 16, 2024 | 9:54 PM

Zarian Finucan sat on the bench and watched his younger brother, Teegan, hit shot after shot Tuesday night.

“I was talking to myself and saying, ‘I used to do this to him in the driveway growing up and beating him,’ ” Zarian said. “He’s great and he’s just going to keep getting better.”

Teegan ended up with a game-high 30 points, but when Zarian had his chance to make an impact, he capitalized.

Zarian made a steal in the final seconds of regulation and went on to hit three of four free throws in overtime, including the game-winners, as Knoch fended off Highlands, 68-65, in a battle for second place in Section 1-4A on Tuesday night.

The Fincuan brothers made their mark and helped Knoch ease the sting of losing a buzzer-beater to Hampton on Friday.

“It was huge. … This is the first time we’ve beaten Highlands since 2020,” Knoch coach Alan Bauman said. “We had a mental thing with them coming in.

“That was the real Teegan tonight. We’ve been waiting for him to show up and he got into a nice rhythm tonight. It was nice to see. ‘Z’ is the ultimate team guy. For him to get the steal at the end of regulation and hit those foul shots was great to see from him.”

Knoch (11-3, 4-1) outscored Highlands, 7-4, in overtime.

Before the extra frame, Highlands (8-5, 3-2) battled back from down 10 points in the third quarter to force overtime.

Jordyn Tavarez hit a runner off the glass to tie it at 61-61 with two and a half minutes remaining.

After forcing a stop on defense, Highlands held for the last shot, but Zarian tipped the ball away from Bradyn Foster in the final seconds. Knoch’s Jackson Bauman tried a desperation shot at the buzzer from halfcourt, but it bounced off the rim.

Foster had a strong night for the Golden Rams, finishing with 25 points and played with four fouls from the midway point of the third quarter on.

“It’s always tough on the road, especially against a good team like Knoch,” Highlands coach Corey Dotchin said. “I was happy with the way our guys responded. I thought our senior leadership really showed. They grabbed our younger guys and brought them in to talk to them about ways they could swing the momentum. Down the stretch we made plays and had a no quit mentality tonight.”

Both teams came out on fire to start the game.

Knoch hit four 3-pointers, two by Teegan and one each from Derek Lang and Kaden Spencer to take a 17-15 advantage after one quarter. Bradyn Foster and Troy Bielak hit one apiece for Highlands.

Lang hit a pair 3’s in the second, and Knoch continued to have balanced scoring. All five Knights starters scored in each of the first two quarters.

The Golden Rams made only two field goals in the second, both by Foster, but went 8 for 8 from the free-throw line to stay close.

Knoch led 33-27 at halftime.

Teegan ended up hitting five 3-pointers. He had 11 of his 30 in the third quarter.

“I started the season in a bit of a slump, but I shot my way out of it,” Teegan said. “I felt a lot better tonight. We’ll see if I can continue it into the next game.”

Derek Lang also hit five 3s and had 15 points.

Tavarez had 18 for Highlands.

The teams will meet again Feb. 9 at Highlands to close out section play.

“We told them the season isn’t over,” Dotchin said. “We know we still have opportunities to get better over the next three weeks. Hampton has to come to us, and Knoch has to come to us. We’ll see what happens when that time comes.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer

Tags: Highlands, Knoch