Highland boys defeat Dodgeville 62-53 in non-conference action

By John Dalton

The Highland Boys visited Dodgeville Saturday night in a non-conference basketball game and the Cardinal’s physicality was too much for the Dodgers to match in the second half as they lost 62-53.

In the first half, Highland had a 24-17 lead when the Dodgers put together a nice run thanks in part to Andrew Hessling and Jayce Halverson.  Hessling would hit two, 3-point shots and Halverson hit a 3-point shot and a jumper giving the Dodgers the lead at halftime 28-26.  

Dodger Bryce Lockard would drive the lane early in the second half and score two of his team game-high 16 points increasing the Dodger lead.  However, the Cardinals answered in the form of Jack Tarrell and John Dreischmeier as they both hit corner 3-point shots tying the game at 32.  Tarrell hit four, 3-point baskets in the game giving him 17 points on the night.  Dreischmeier had 10 points.  

With the game tied, Dodgeville had an inbound pass under their basket but the ball was stolen by Cardinal Wes Kraisinger and he went the distance hammering down a two-handed dunk.  Kraisinger led all scorers with 19 points on the night.  On the Dodger's next possession, a missed shot was rebounded by Michael Esser who found Dreischmeier racing down the court for an uncontested layup, a four-point lead, and Highland would never trail for the remainder of the game.  

Dodgeville would get 3-point shot looks in the second half, but many would not fall and Highland’s muscle on the boards didn’t allow many opportunities for second-chance points for the Dodgers.  The Dodgers hit 11 3-point shots on the night.  Halverson hit four of them as he had 14 points and Hessling hit three for 13 points on the night.  

Dodgeville Head Coach Matt McGraw said following the game, “It was a tough outcome tonight. We played hard and did a lot of good things but we do not like to play very physically.  Tonight we played one of the more physical teams in our area. Highland plays well together and does a lot of nice things. Their group has been together for a while now at the varsity level and it shows. We see stretches of really good things and then we have stretches of things we need to improve on. We didn't shoot it particularly well tonight and we forced some things at times. There’s a lot to be excited about, but nobody likes losing. We will get back to it on Monday,” he said.  

Highland moved to 3-0 on the season.  Head Coach Ryan Hill was pleased with his team's effort.  “It was a good game. We got up, they came back to lead at halftime then we got the lead back and kept it,” he said. “We had foul trouble both halves with three starters sitting out quite a bit of the time but our bench came through with some great defense and solid minutes. Credit Landis Newberry, Gavin Shemak, and Kade Washa for giving us depth. Jack Tarrell, John Dreischmeier, and Bennett Smith hit some big shots in the second half. Our size, depth, and having different players step up was the difference tonight."

Dodgeville moved to 1-2 overall and will open up SWC play on Friday, December 13th at Prairie du Chien.  That game is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m.  

Highland opened its conference season in the Six Rivers-West on Tuesday, December 10th against Potosi and you can find that story in the paper.  They will visit Monticello on Friday, December 13th in a game scheduled for 7:15 p.m. 

For video highlights of this game, visit the Dodgeville Chronicle Facebook page for this and other area games throughout the season.  

BOX SCORE

Highland 26 – 36 – 62

Dodgeville 28 – 25 – 53

Highland (fg-ft-tp); Wes Kraisinger 8-3-19, Jack Tarrell 6-1-17, John Dreischmeier 3-2-10, Bennett Smith 2-2-8, Michael Esser 3-0-6, Landis Newberry 1-0-2.  

3-pointers; Tarrell 4, Dreischmeier 2, Smith 2.

Dodgeville (fg-ft-tp); Bryce Crubaugh-Lockard 6-2-16, Jayce Halverson 5-0-14, Andrew Hessling 5-0-13, John McGraw 1-0-3, Jentry Olson 1-0-3, Griffin Busch 1-0-2, Sawyer Garthwaite 1-0-2.

3-pointers; Halverson 4, Hessling 3, Lockard 2, Olson 1, McGraw 1