Offensive struggles cost Highland on Friday

Early in their Friday night home contest against Clear Fork, the Highland boys’ basketball team got back-to-back three-pointers by Owen Winkelfoos and Toby Rogers to lead their opponents 6-4 with 5:58 left in the opening period.

Unfortunately for the Scots, they would struggle to put points on the board until finishing the third quarter with an 8-3 run in a game they would lose 49-34.

Head coach Ryan Stover said his team’s main offensive issue was finding a way to contend with Clear Fork’s pressure defense, which forced them into too many three-point attempts.

“We settled way too much,” he said. “We didn’t attack and get to the rim. Give Clear Fork credit, they pressured us and pushed us 35-40 feet and it’s hard to run offense when you’re that far from the basket.”

Those two three-pointers were Highland’s only offense over the opening eight minutes. After those buckets, Clear Fork got five straight points from Garrett Holz to spark a 10-0 run that gave them a 14-6 lead at the end of the period.

Highland’s defense would hold their opponents to nine points over the duration of the second quarter, but the team would not be able to take advantage. While Aron West tallied five points in the period, the team only mustered seven and trailed 23-13 going into the intermission.

“That’s been our issue all season,” said Stover. “We go in those droughts where it just hurts us, but the biggest thing I can say is everyone continues to bust their butts and work hard. We’re playing physical. Sometimes, we foul too much, but we’re not giving up. We’re working and we’re trying to get better. The wins aren’t where we wanted to be, but we haven’t quit. We’re working. We showed up tonight — we just couldn’t find the bottom of the net.”

Clear Fork would extend their advantage to a 36-16 margin late in the third period, but Highland was able to come to life offensive over the final 1:15 of the quarter. West hit from both sides of the arc for five points and Winkelfoos added a three-pointer to bring the Scots within a 39-24 count.

The team then opened the fourth on a 6-2 run sparked by four free throws by West to get within a 40-30 margin midway through the quarter. The Colts were able to repeatedly get to the free throw line down the stretch, though, and were able to convert on 9-of-16 attempts from the charity stripe over the final four minutes of action to preserve their lead and earn the win.

West led Highland with 14 points, while Rogers scored nine and Winkelfoos added eight. With the regular season winding down, Stover still is optimistic his squad has the ability to develop some positive momentum heading into the playoffs.

“We don’t quit,” he said. “We’ve got some guys that can score; we just have to figure out how to do that on a consistent basis. We have a couple more winnable games coming up before we start tournaments. Maybe we can get a little momentum before the tournament starts.”

Rob Hamilton can be reached at 419-946-3010, ext. 1807. Connect with him on Twitter at @SportsMCS