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Granger, OH – A game that started off a blowout ended up being too close for comfort.
The Highland Hornets start the season with a narrow 54-53 win over the Tallmadge Blue Devils in a rematch of last year’s instant classic.
The Hornets scored the first 16 points of the game with Carson Cope scoring eight of them. The Blue Devils scored their only point that quarter via an Anthony Bontempo free throw. Meanwhile the Hornets closed out the first with a Nick Dobkowski three.
In the second quarter, the Hornets branched out their lead to 20, but Tallmadge wouldn’t quit easily. They would get the lead down to 13 until Highland got a last second three courtesy of Dobkowski. The score would be 30-14 at the half.
In the third quarter, Highland extended its lead to 34-16 with Cope having 14 points at the time. The third quarter would be back and forth as the Hornets took a 43-30 lead heading into the fourth.
The fourth quarter was when things started to get sour for Highland. Tallmadge caught fire by scoring the first 10 points of the fourth before Highland ultimately took a timeout. The Hornets didn’t get their first points in the fourth until 4:03 had elapsed in it when Jake Weber made a layup and got the foul. Both teams were trading points until Tallmadge took their first lead of the night with 32.9 in the game.
The Hornets drove down the floor and senior Josh Butcher was fouled with 15.8 remaining. He would drill two free throws to give Highland a 54-53 advantage. Tallmadge tried a last second shot, but it wound up being short, and the Hornets would escape with a win after a rocket fast start.
Highland starts the season 1-0 in both the regular season and American Conference. Tallmadge falls to 0-2 on the season and 0-1 on their farewell tour in the Suburban League. Both teams play again Friday when Highland hosts Barberton and Tallmadge hosts Revere.
