By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
If the visiting Atchison Phoenix thought they were in the game after one period at Highland Park on Saturday, they were quickly disabused of that notion.
After sitting out the first quarter senior Ja'Corey Robinson scored 25 points in Highland Park's 63-35 Saturday win over Atchison. [File photo/TSN]
Highland Park coach Mike Williams sent a message to his team by holding regular starters Jacorey Robinson and Isaiah Kelley out for the entire first period. The Scots clung to a 15-12 lead when those seniors entered the game.
Whatever hope Atchison had of winning the game was removed at that point. The Scots went on a 17-0 run. Highland Park held Atchison to just four points in the second period and four more in the third period.
Highland Park pulled away to win 63-35, gaining their 10th win in the Meadowlark Conference against zero defeats, and running their season record to 18-0.
“We just wanted to address some things,” Williams said. “The guys responded really well. I’ve got the boys' trust. They know that when I ruffle some feathers, it’s easy to reel them back in because they know who I am.”
Robinson took over the game, hitting six shots – most of them dunks – in the second period. He finished the game hitting 11-16 shots for 25 points.
Williams praised sophomore Joseph Kingcannon and senior Elijah Thomas for stepping into the starting lineup and performing well.
“That good energy from the first quarter, being able to pick up for a man or two down, was a good sign,” Williams said. “We always want our kids to play with a chip on their shoulder. Sometimes it could be easy to coast but we want to keep them intense, with their foot on the gas all the time.”
Highland Park still has two home contests remaining -- Tuesday versus J.C. Harmon and Friday against KC-Washington, a team with just one loss in the Meadowlark Conference, that to Highland Park.
Ranked atop the 5A class, the Scots still have plenty to play for, including locking up the league title against KC-Washington. Williams said the team will make the most of every opportunity over the next week to get better.
“Any and every game rep is giving us practice time to work on stuff,” Williams said. “We’ve gone deeper into our presses the last couple of nights. The game reps on that are important because now we’ve got the film, we can coach it, we can talk about it, we can go back and correct it.
“So that’s what next week is gonna be. It’s a time for us to focus in practice and then make sure that what we do coming out Tuesday and Friday falls in line and puts us in a position to keep playing the right way going into sub-state.”
HIGHLAND PARK BOYS 63, ATCHISON 35
Atchison 12 4 4 15 -- 35
Highland Park 15 19 19 10 -- 63
Atchison (12-6, 7-3) – Morgan 0-4 0-0 0, Kelley 2-5 3-4 7, Williams 1-8 0-0 2, Smith 4-10 3-4 11, Purdy 1-6 1-2 3, Richards 2-5 0-0 4, Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Rebant 3-4 0-0 8, Boldridge 0-0 0-0 0, Craddock 0-0 0-0 0, Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Mays 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 13-42 7-10 35.
Highland Park (18-0, 10-0) – Wilson 2-8 0-0 5, Hales 1-5 0-0 3, Williams 4-9 0-0 11, Kingcannon 3-3 1-1 8, Thomas 0-1 0-0 0, Montgomery 0-0 1-2 1, Robinson 11-16 2-3 25, Kelley 4-8 0-2 8, Brown 1-2 0-0 2, Drew 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 26-52 4-8 63.
3-point goals – Atchison 2 (Rebant 2), Highland Park 7 (Williams 3, Wilson, Hales, Kingcannon, Robinson). Total fouls – Atchison 9, Highland Park 17. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – Thomas.
