Highland pulls off upset, tops elite 5A squad La Cueva

Highland High boys basketball coach Justin Woody didn’t have to look it up. He had the statistic ready to go.

His program’s record against top-five ranked teams in Class 5A since he was hired in 2017? A paltry 1-16.

The Hornets’ 75-70 win at home Saturday afternoon against La Cueva, the fifth-ranked team in 5A, won’t make the overall record look noticeably better, but it nevertheless was a breakthrough victory of sorts for 4A’s second-ranked outfit.

“As good as we’ve been,” Woody said, “it’s hard to beat top 5A teams. So this is one of the best wins of my career.”

The Bears (13-5) beat the Hornets (13-4) at metro two weeks ago, but Highland turned the tables Saturday for its best result of the season.

“Shot selection and ball movement,” Woody said. “Shot selection was really bad when we played them in the metro tournament. We shot 27%. This time, we moved the ball a lot better and got better open shots.”

The Hornets trailed 25-21 when they went on a 10-0 run in the latter stages of the second quarter to take the lead for good. Juan Limas hit a 3 from the top of the key during that run, and Lenyn French nailed another 3 from the corner for a 29-25 lead.

Highland led 34-29 at halftime, and La Cueva chased the Hornets the rest of the way.

The Bears did get within two at 49-47 in the final minute of the third quarter – a third quarter filled with fouls and free throws; the teams combined for 25 shots from the line in that quarter alone – on a 3 from Matty Martin, but no closer.

Limas led the Hornets with 27 points. Nico Sanchez added 21, and 6-foot-9 post Jerry Moody was hugely influential in the fourth quarter for Highland, especially with multiple offensive rebounds and putbacks.

The big man even banked in two free throws.

And free throws were prevalent throughout in a game that was called extremely tight. La Cueva was 21-for-26 from the line, Highland 31-for-39. The teams combined for 49 fouls.

Limas and Sanchez were brilliant at the stripe, combining to go 26-for-29, and most of that was in the second half.

“When you have Nico and Juan shooting a majority of free throws, they’re great shooters in pressure situations,” Woody said.

Hunter Butler had a team-best 24 points for La Cueva. Kobe Cooper added 13 points, Drew Bramlett 12.

Moody’s effort, meanwhile, was another step in his progress; he missed the first six games with a knee injury that traced back to fall league, but his length is an issue for everyone Highland plays.

“I feel like (it’s) us all coming together, being all-in with each other, moving the ball around, playing our offense, playing like we want,” Moody said.

Highland will return to district play Tuesday against Grants. Same for La Cueva, versus Capital.

“It’s a huge win,” Woody said. “I’m really proud of them.”