Highlands boys hold on for OT win over Knoch in tournament final

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, December 30, 2017 | 12:08 AM

After missing 13 free throws in regulation, the Highlands boys had a feeling that could cost them the game.

Instead, Highlands caught fire in the overtime period and won its holiday tournament with an 80-69 victory over neighboring rival Knoch.

The Golden Rams (5-3) outscored the Knights, 15-4, in overtime.

Johnny Crise and tournament MVP Shawn Erceg each scored a pair of baskets to ignite an 8-0 Highlands run to start overtime.

Luke Cochran led the Golden Rams with 20 points, and Crise added 19 points and 15 rebounds.

“We just stayed with what we do,” Highlands coach Tyler Stoczynski said. “We believe in what we do here: play tough, physical basketball and attack the rim. Credit our kids. We really executed in the overtime.”

Consecutive baskets by Erceg gave the Golden Rams a 63-57 lead with 1 minute, 23 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

But Julian Sanks, held scoreless in the second half after tallying 16 in the first half, made a 3-pointer. Jared Schreckengost hit a pair of free throws, and Sanks nailed another 3-pointer with 9 seconds left to give Knoch a 65-64 advantage.

Cochran was fouled at halfcourt by Jesse Fessel and made the first free throw with 4.8 seconds to go but missed the second shot.

“We're a work in progress in that sense,” Stoczynski said of the missed foul shots. “We continue to work on that in practice. It's one of those things where you've got to step up and make free throws.”

Knoch (3-5) hit 8 of 12 shots beyond the arc in the first half en route to a 36-30 halftime advantage. A 10-0 run fueled a strong second quarter for the Knights.

“We put a lot of time into our skills,” Knoch coach Ron McNabb said. “These guys are in the gym all summer long through all kinds of challenging shooting drills. We didn't shoot the ball so well Thursday, but we put the ball in the hole tonight and I was proud of the way the guys bounced back.”

Highlands started to apply full-court zone pressure in the third quarter, allowing the Golden Rams to make up ground. Erceg had six points as Highlands committed one turnover in the third quarter.

Sanks picked up his fourth personal foul with 1:11 to go in the third quarter and headed for the bench.

After Knoch was called for a five-second violation to start the fourth quarter, Christian Tanilli hit a 3-pointer from the corner to put Highlands ahead 51-50.

Ryan Signorella and Crise hit 3s soon after, and Highlands took a 59-55 lead with 4:38 left in regulation before the Knights started their comeback.

“I'm extremely proud of our effort,” said McNabb. “We're playing a whole bunch of sophomores. We only had two seniors playing out there tonight. The atmosphere here and the pressure Highlands brings, I thought we really reacted well.”

The Knights didn't go to the foul line until the 3:54 mark of the fourth quarter. But Knoch made the free throws count, hitting 7 of 7. Combine that with the Knights hitting their last 14 free throws against Blackhawk on Thursday night, and Knoch has made 21 consecutive free throws heading into Tuesday's nonsection game at Burrell.

Erceg had 16 points and 14 rebounds for Highlands, which was 17 of 30 from the line.

Schreckengost had 12 rebounds to lead Knoch, and Ben Lucas added 13 points.

George Guido is a freelance writer.

Tags: Highlands, Knoch