NEW CASTLE — Happy New Year!
Thomas Moore and his Highland boys’ basketball team started the 2025 calendar year with a Pioneer District victory here last Friday night.
The Rams started quickly and held off the hot-shooting Rockets late, beating Craig County, 49-36.
The visitors built a 13-2 lead after a quarter and led 25-7 by the halftime break, but had some anxious moments in the second half.
The Rockets sliced that 18-point halftime deficit to as little as five midway through the fourth quarter.
“I thought we looked pretty good early — we’ve been working on some things,” said Moore. “We did what we wanted to do at the start. Then we sort of got out of it. They always get hot on us on threes — that they do.”
Luke Potter knocked in three threes after the break, while Talon Ritter and Tristan Dooley combined for three more for Craig County. Potter’s triple got the Rockets within 38-33 with just under four minutes to play.
But two free throws from Patton Hull and a Zach Armstrong drive to the hole pushed the margin back to nine.
Highland hit just enough free throws down the stretch, making 7-of-14 in the final 2:24.
John Wagner made 3-of-4, while Hull went 2-for-2.
Wagner, who scored six points in the opening quarter to give the Rams a cushion, led the winners with 14 points and seven rebounds, Armstrong had 10 points to go with five assists, Eli Moore had 10 points to go with six rebounds and two blocked shots, and Hull chipped in nine points.
Potter had 11 points for the Rockets, Ritter had eight, and Marcus Donithan pulled in a team-high seven rebounds.
Highland (1-1 Pioneer District, 3-3 overall) had their trip to Narrows postponed Tuesday night.
The Rams are scheduled to play at Boys Home in Covington on Thursday.
Jan. 3 boxscore
• Highland (49): Zach Armstrong 10, Elijah Good 6, Owen Honaker 0, Patton Hull 9, Preston Jaccard 0, Chase Lupo 0, Eli Moore 10, John Wagner 14, Levi Warner 0
• Craig County (36): Marcus Donithan 0, Tristan Dooley 6, Bradyn Dunbar 0, Cam Huffman 0, Casey Hutchinson 0, Luke Potter 11, Carter Price 3, Talon Ritter 8, Bentley Smith 5, Isaiah Wente 3
• Halftime: Highland 25, Craig County 7
• 3-point goals: Highland 3 (Armstrong 1, Hull 1, Wagner 1); Craig County 6 (Potter 3, Ritter 2, Dooley 1)