‘It felt amazing.’ Highlands star’s 24-point half too much for Muhlenberg to overcome.
Highlands, perhaps the hottest team coming into Rupp Arena, got a transcendent first-half performance from Mr. Basketball candidate Sam Vinson and rolled over Muhlenberg County 88-60 Thursday in their first-round game of the KHSAA Boys’ Sweet 16 presented by UK HealthCare Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine.
Vinson, a 6-foot-3 senior guard committed to Northern Kentucky, scored 24 of his 31 points in the first half, including shooting 5-of-6 from three-point range as the Bluebirds sprang to a double-digit lead early and kept the pedal down.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been that hot in a half before,” Vinson said. “To do that here at Rupp Arena in front of this crowd, it felt amazing.”
Highlands Coach Kevin Listerman said he’s seen signs that Vinson could have that kind of performance, especially on a big stage.
“Last year in the regional tournament, we made it to BB&T Arena, Sam’s eyes kind of lit up on a big stage and he shot it very well for us in the first couple rounds,” Listerman said. “And then yesterday in practice, his shot was getting up in the air just a little bit more, and I can see he’s a little more relaxed and locked in. So, I had an inkling.”
His teammates had a pretty good game as well. Highlands shot 62.5 percent from the field and made 12 of 18 three-point shots, a trademark of Listerman’s offense with this roster. Luke Muller added 21 points and three three-pointers. Oliver Harris scored 11.
“Everyone on the floor can shoot from everywhere,” Muller said. “We can really stretch the floor against really anyone. It’s a big advantage. We might not be the biggest, but with shooters everywhere, we’ve got confidence in everybody to just knock down shots.”
A turning point in Highlands’ season came in their last loss, a 67-63 defeat to Beechwood on Feb. 12, Vinson said.
“We went to film after the Beechwood game and we picked out the shots we need to take,” Vinson said. “And ever since then, we’ve just been doing that and that led to today, I mean, there’s a lot of space on this bigger floor, which led to open shooters and drive-and-kicks.”
Muhlenberg, the 3rd Region champion, came into the school’s second-ever appearance in a Sweet 16 with a 19-1 record, but knew Highlands would be a difficult challenge.
“Going into this game, the only time that we’ve gotten to see Highlands is on tape,” Mustangs Coach Kyle Eades said. “Tape doesn’t really do it justice compared to what we saw out there. They are a very, very good basketball team.”
Muhlenberg’s Mr. Basketball candidate, Nash Devine, led the team in scoring with 21 points. Kadin Ray added 12.
Highlands will next play at 8 p.m. Friday against 1st Region champion McCracken County, who defeated the 6th Region’s Bullitt East 68-56 later Thursday.
Listerman said making it through the 9th Region where St. Henry and Covington Catholic had been ranked among the top 10 teams in the state all season and building on that now 18-game win streak has given his team confidence.
“You know we don’t talk about it (the streak). We just know that we want to go out and play very well.” Listerman said. “And we talk about trusting each other and trusting our process. And we’ve lived with whatever results come with that.”
Sweet 16 attendance
The fan experience has changed under COVID-19 guidelines with games being ticketed individually rather than in two-game sessions. With Rupp Arena limited to 25 percent capacity, that has also affected attendance.
Wednesday’s first-round games totaled 12,859 fans. Madison Central’s game against Ballard drew the most fans with 4,067. In 2019, the last Sweet 16 held, the first-day, four-game attendance was 21,254.
Thursday’s first game had an announced attendance of 4,346.
This story was originally published April 1, 2021 at 2:26 PM.
