Highlands in 5A quarterfinals
ball well early in the season,” said Highlands coach Tyler Stoczynski, whose team is the No. 4 seed from the WPIAL. “But there’s a reason he’s making shots now. He’s playing with confidence now and that has only made us better.”
Carrick jumped to a 10-2 lead and the score was tied, 18-18, in the second quarter. At that point, Cochran had not made a basket. But he hit two 3-pointers and scored 10 points in the quarter as Highlands pushed ahead, leading by 37-27 at halftime.
Cochran hit two more 3pointers in the third quarter as the Rams pushed their lead 50-36 heading into the final eight minutes. For the game, Cochran was 5 of 10 from 3-point range and also dished out some nice no-look passes for baskets.
“He was absolutely gigantic,” Stoczynski said. “Every time Carrick seemed to make a run, he made a significant play, whether it was a great pass, a follow-up shot off a rebound or a 3-pointer.”
Shawn Erceg, a 6-6 senior center, had 16 points and 14 rebounds for Highlands and Romello Freeman, a 6-1 senior forward, also had 16 points with two dunks. Johnny Crise, a 6-7 sophomore, scored 10 off the bench. Y’Shua Bragg, a 6-6 senior, had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead Carrick.
Highlands shot 49 percent from the field. Carrick started the game with a hot hand, but shot only 38 percent from midway through the first quarter to the end of the game. Highlands outrebounded Carrick, 42-34.
“We knew coming in that Highlands was extremely aggressive and hard to score against,” Milinski said. “They play so hard that you have to match that, and we didn’t match that intensity after the beginning. This was the first time in three state playoff games that we were outrebounded, too.
“But I’m so proud of what we did. I told the kids don’t let this game be a reflection on the season because we had such a wonderful season. It’s going to hurt, but in time we’ll celebrate and realize what a great season we had.”
Highlands’ well-balanced team moves on. The Rams have four players averaging between 9.9 and 12.7 points a game.
“It’s one of those things where we’re stronger together than we are apart,” Stoczynski said. “We don’t know who is going to step up on what night — and we don’t care.”
Tuesday, it was Cochran’s turn.
“You’re talking about a kid who got 30 seconds of playing time as a freshman last year,” Stoczynski said. “Then I give him the keys to the car here as a sophomore point guard.”
As long as Cochran has the keys to the gym in the morning, Highlands might be OK.