Highland tops Clinton Grace

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Highland (17-10, 7-2) hosted a red-hot Clinton Grace (23-2,8-1) team missing their senior captain in [player_tooltip player_id='1367745' first='Kris' last='Johnson']-- but a team that had still won 20 straight games dating back to early December. Highland jumped out to an early 13-6 lead at the end of 1Q and maintained that advantage to lead a defensive slugfest at halftime 19-13. Clinton Grace had it as close as 2 at the end of the 3Q and even had the lead down to 5 with 1:14 left when the officials called a technical foul on a parent to send Highland to the line to shoot 2 FTs and keep the ball. Highland hit a 3 after splitting the FTs to extend it to 9 before some Clinton Grace hot shooting down the stretch closed the game out with a 49-43 Highland victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1591317"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Ament got to his now-standard 20-point double double (20p 10r 3a 1b) but I was impressed by his play-making off the bounce. The 6'9 wing is passing out of double teams much more efficiently and with some zip, finding shooters with crisp skip passes to the opposite wing or using his reverse pivot to hit a release target. Ament is making quicker, more decisive moves to the rim while getting there in only 2-3 dribbles. The shooting continues to be a selling point as he can knock down catch and shoot opportunities but is also knocking down shots off of 1 or 2-dribble pull-ups, finishing 7/11 from the floor. High ceiling for this young prospect.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1339892"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"J. Rivera overcame a rough shooting night from the floor to dominate the glass from the guard spot to the tune of 10p 11r 2a 1s. With 5 offensive rebounds on the night and 2 assists coming from those plays, he extended possessions and gave his Highland squad extra looks at the rim that were much-needed in such a tight game. He has improved on the defensive end, doing a much better job of chesting up to his defender on drives to avoid foul calls while still sticking with his matchup and contesting shots.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["1579095"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Hawkins brought his hardhat today and finished with a workmen's double-double with 13p 10r 3a 2s. On a night where Highland's shot-blocking altered a ton of attempts around the basket, Hawkins swooped in to grab 5 offensive rebounds to give his team some key buckets under the rim. He also forced some tough shots on the defensive end, outletted the ball well in transition, and showed improved floor vision with 3 assists and several more unofficial hockey assists to teammates.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["2231765"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Buckley scored 9 of his 12 points in the 4Q to spur a Clinton Grace run that cut the Highland lead to a 2-possession game down the stretch. The senior guard hit 4 of his last 6 shots while also finishing with  6r 2a 1s, often breaking through a glut of defenders to get to the rim and finish in traffic.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["2242371"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Hamilton set the defensive tone early for this Highland team, recording 4 of his game-high 7 blocks in the first quarter to protect a 6-point lead throughout the first half that sustained the Hawks' down the stretch. The timing on the weakside blocks allowed him to collect the rebound before outletting to get Highland going in transition for easy points. The athletic 6'8 junior F turned a lot of heads with his impact beyond the box score on both ends of the floor, finishing with 2p 7b 7r 1s on the night.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65bd032374728"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->