Woods Cross solves Highland puzzle

On Friday, Feb. 10, I covered the Highland-Woods Cross boys basketball game. I wrote the following article, which will appear in the Woods Cross 2011-12 basketball yearbook. I'll write a slightly different article for Highland later.

By Bruce Smith
Matchup

There’s no doubt that Jan. 20 was the worst night of the season for the Woods Cross Wildcats.

For days afterward, coach Todd Street admitted all he saw were Highland shots filling the basket en route to an 81-42 win over the home team.

Three weeks later, the Wildcats turned the tables.

Hayden Grant and Luke Jowers had the best games of their careers Friday as Woods Cross went to Highland and earned a 59-57 overtime decision in a Region 6 game.

It was the same Ram team that had dominated them earlier. But these weren’t the same Wildcats, who won their fourth straight and moved into a three-way tie for second place with two games remaining.

“A 40-point turnaround,” said Street, with a big smile on his face. “We changed our defensive scheme from last time. We didn’t play any zone, and this time we played zone 95 percent of the time. We just made plays.”

Grant made the most. He had seven points at halftime, but finished with 23, including a long three-pointer that doused the home crowd’s excitement and sent the game into overtime. He also started the extra session with a three-pointer and his steal led to a pair of free throws that ended up being the deciding points.

Jowers, a sophomore who got more playing time on this night than he had all season, scored 15 points. He was almost automatic from the free-throw line (9-of-10) and likely will remember this game as being his best all season.

“He earned it the way he has played in practice,” Street said. “I put him in and he had the hot hand. I rolled the dice and let him stay in there and he just kept making plays. He had a couple of big buckets for us.”

Grant, Jowers and Mike Jacobson also made a huge effort on defense, hustling along the perimeter to prevent a repeat of the earlier game.

Last time, Highland guard David Divver was on fire. He made four three-point shots and the Rams finished with 14 from beyond the arc. Highland led 33-8 after the first quarter and it only got worse.

On this night, the Rams made just 2-of-14 three-pointers. The Wildcats’ defense blocked attempts out there than the Rams made.

Still, the game could have gone either way. Woods Cross led most of the game, and had a six-point advantage late. But Divver made his only three-pointer of the game and added a couple of free throws with 16 seconds left for a 49-46 lead.

Woods Cross almost lost the ball on the ensuing possession, but was awarded a timeout. Grant quickly took a pass and nailed a trey from well beyond the three-point line to tie the game.

The Wildcats kept the momentum into overtime and Skyler Farnes’ free throw gave them a 59-57 lead with 32 seconds left. Highland looked for a good shot but couldn’t find an open three-pointer, so the Rams fed Todd Connolly for an 18-footer from the top of the key.

The shot looked on target, but was six inches short, and Woods Cross players flooded the court in celebration.

As bad as those memories of Jan. 20 have been for the Wildcats, the night of Feb. 10 was just as good.

GAME SUMMARY
Woods Cross 15 9 12 13 10 - 59
Highland 12 11 8 18 8 - 57

WOODS CROSS (59) – Filipo Mokofisi 1-8 0-2 2, Skyler Farnes 3-5 4-5 10, Brady Cowley 0-1 0-0 0, Mike Jacobson 1-3 4-6 6, Hayden Grant 8-14 4-4 23, Luke Jowers 3-6 9-10 15, Luke Hansen 0-0 0-0 0, Nick Elg 1-1 1-2 3, Seth Jackson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-40 22-29 59.
HIGHLAND (57) – Liam Thomas 5-11 6-7 16, Lennon Betonney 3-5 1-2 8, Max Bradshaw 4-6 1-2 9, Todd Connolly 1-5 2-2 4, David Divver 4-16 4-4 13, Riley Tucker 2-2 3-5 7, Matt Barker 0-0 0-0 0, Hayes Hicken 0-0 0-1 0. Totals 18-46 17-23 57.
Total fouls: Woods Cross 23, Highland 19. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: None.
Three-point shooting: Woods Cross 3-12 (Grant 3), Highland 2-14 (Divver, Betonney).
Rebounds: Woods Cross 27 (Farnes 7), Highland 30 (Bradshaw 10).
Turnovers: Woods Cross 13, Highland 15.