By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
Highland Park boys basketball put its perfect record on the line Friday night as the Scots played host to Manhattan.
The Scots were propelled by a dominant defense and scoring from its stars to run away with a 64-31 Centennal League win.
“It was good that it wasn’t one guy, it was a team effort that would do that, so it was good to see us doing that over the course of the game,” said Highland Park coach Michael Williams.
The lopsided win moved the Indians to 2-5 on the year while Highland Park stayed unbeaten at 7-0.
By staying unbeaten the Scots set up a battle of unbeaten teams next week against 6-0 Junction City in a game that will be critical for Centennial League positioning.
“We really really stressed staying in the moment on Tuesday, staying in the moment on Friday, and by doing that we made those games even bigger going into (next) Tuesday and Friday,” Williams said. “On the way out I just told the boys we got to be ready to buckle up.
“It’s really fun for me because I love playing good games, I love playing good teams, so I am ready to go play them and hopefully pick up a win,” said senior Juan’Tario Roberts.
Juan'Tario Roberts
Ketraleus Aldridge
Highland Park wasted no time getting started, as it jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first two minutes, fueled by turnovers and four points from junior Ketraleus Aldridge.
The pace slowed down when teams got into half-court offense. The Scots' defensive pressure extended 94 feet as Manhattan managed only one point in the quarter. A steal at that end led to a 3-pointer by Aldridge at the buzzer to make it a 16-1 game.
“That’s something I want our guys and our team to emphasize and take seriously, and I feel like we really did that tonight, obviously one point in the first quarter kind of shows that,” Williams said.
Manhattan was able to get into its offense better in the second quarter, led by senior Tate Brown, who had five points in the frame.
Highland Park continued to score whenever and however the Scots wanted, with back-to-back 3-pointers by junior Tre Richardson pushing the lead over 20 points.
Roberts was steady on the offensive end, with five in the quarter and 11 in the half. Those contributions, along with Aldridge’s 12 points, made it a 36-11 game at the half.
“I try to get open shots when I can, but I love getting my teammates the ball cause they are really good,” Roberts said.
Those same three players continued to score for the Scots in the third quarter, as they combined to score 17 of 19 points in the quarter as they continued to force turnovers and push the pace.
“Transition stuff is really good for us because you are playing a disadvantaged defense,” Williams said. “And for a team like us, who is really really good in transition, we are able to manufacture those buckets in those ways, that’s what we want.”
Manhattan had its most productive quarter offensively, with four different players scoring, but could not hold up defensively as the game was left at 55-25 heading into the fourth.
With a running clock in the fourth Highland Park emptied out its bench and was still able to build the lead, as they would leave with a 64-31 victory.
Roberts and Aldridge both had 22 for the Scots who moved to 7-0 with the win. Richardson joined them in double figures with 10.
Junior Cole Coonrod paced the Indians with nine points and Brown added eight on the night.
Highland Park will travel to face unbeaten Junction City next Tueday.
HIGHLAND PARK BOYS 64, MANHATTAN 31
Highland Park (7-0, 6-0) – Adams 1-2 2-2 4, Aldridge 10-17 0-0 22, Richardson 4-6 0-0 10, McMillon 0-0 0-0 0, Drew-Gregory 0-2 0-0 0, Kingcannon 2-8 0-0 5, Clemons 0-0 1-2 1, Williams Jr. 0-0 0-0 0, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, Roberts 7-13 5-5 22, Robinson 0-0 0-0 0, Ama. Taylor 0-0 0-0 0, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, Ant. Taylor 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-48 8-9 64.
Manhattan (2-5, 2-4) – Dowling 0-4 0-0 0, Delort 1-3 2-4 4, Gagnon 0-0 0-0 0, Holloway 1-1 3-4 5, Schartz 0-2 1-2 1, Brown 3-7 0-0 8, Coonrod 3-7 1-2 9, Elumogo 2-9 0-0 4, Conley 0-0 0-0 0, Knopp 0-0 0-0 0, McNabb 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 10-33 7-12 31.
3-point goals – Highland Park 6 (Aldridge 2, Richardson 2, Kingcannon 1, Roberts 1) Manhattan 4 (Brown 2, Coonrod 2). Total fouls – Highland Park 10 Manhattan 10. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.
