Highlanders drop to .500 after Klein Collins buzzer-beater
Klein Collins guard Ryan Harrison got a tough layup to drop just before the final buzzer to give his team a 52-51 victory over The Woodlands on Monday evening in non-district action.
The Highlanders (5-5) missed a free throw with less than 10 seconds to play, allowing the Tigers (5-4) to corral the rebound and drive the length of the court for the winning basket.
It was a big victory for Klein Collins, which trailed 16-0 midway through the first quarter before mounting a comeback. The Tigers held a lead on just three occasions throughout the contest, all of which came in the fourth quarter.
“I think it was just not giving up,” Klein Collins coach Scott Harmatuk said. “Just playing hard to the end, making some plays, and rebounding was huge for us because they were missing a lot of easy shots that we needed to grab and fight for. I think it was just a great team effort.”
Harrison led the way for the Tigers with 13 points, while Jason Busby finished with 11 and Josh Johnson added nine. John Stubbs led the Highlanders with 13 points. R.J. Keene II finished with 10, and Romello Wilbert had eight.
The Woodlands and Klein Collins have now squared off 10 times since 2009 with the Highlanders holding the 6-4 edge. All of those games have been decided by 10 points or less, including last year when The Woodlands prevailed 55-52.
Four of Highlanders’ five losses this season have come by five points or less.
“We’ve just got to continue to learn and continue to get better,” The Woodlands coach Dale Reed said.
“We can improve so much. We have three games where missed free throws and turnovers ultimately cost us. But all that stuff is fixable, and that’s what I told the guys. Everything that is a struggle right now is fixable once we start to figure it out.”
The Highlanders came out of the gates on fire, shooting 6-for-8 from the floor over the opening four minutes for a commanding 16-0 lead.
The Woodlands led 3015 with less than three minutes to play in the first half before Klein Collins reeled off a 13-0 run.
That put the Tigers just one possession behind heading into the locker rooms with the score at 3028.
“It was a phenomenal start,” Reed said. “Our starters came really focused and just really did an outstanding job from the get-go. But then as the end of the quarter came about, we started to do a little rotation stuff, and the focus slipped. All of a sudden, Klein Collins started to chip away, chip away, get some confidence, get some energy.”
The Tigers were able to pull even on three separate occasions in the third quarter, and the teams entered the final frame with the score knotted at 39.
“That was a great win for us to come here against a great team like The Woodlands and pull that out, especially after being down 16 points,” Harmatuk said.