NKyTribune staff
Scotty Draud and Will Downton combined for 45 points as Beechwood posted a 67-63 win at Highlands on Friday night.
Draud netted a game-high 26 points and converted 10 free throws in 12 attempts as Beechwood improved to 13-3. Downton added 19 points — including four dunks in the second half — and drained a key 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter that gave Beechwood a 60-57 lead.
After Sam Vinson countered with a layup to cut the Beechwood lead to 60-59, Downton converted a pair of free throws with 24.9 seconds left on the clock to extend the Tigers advantage to 62-59.
Vinson again scored on a drive to the basket to make it 62-61, but Draud buried a pair of free throws to extend the Beechwood lead to 64-61. Another Vinson layup cut the Tigers lead to 64-63, but Draud again hit two clutch free throws to give Beechwood a 66-63 cushion.
Vinson missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds, and Cameron Boyd made a free throw for the final margin. Boyd finished with 11 points for Beechwood, which extended its winning streak to three. The Tigers won the rebounding battle by a 37-32 margin and held Highlands to 41.7 percent shooting from the field.
Highlands (9-4) took a 30-28 halftime lead when Vinson hit a jumper with less than a minute left on the clock. The senior guard scored 12 of his 23 points in the first half.
Vinson, who has signed to play at Northern Kentucky University next season, also grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked five shots.
Luke Muller added 16 points for Highlands, while teammate Cole Kocher finished with eight points.
Downton, a senior guard, shot 7-for-12 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds.
A year ago, Highlands posted a 78-63 win at Beechwood as Hunter Ahlfeld (20 points), Vinson (18) and Muller (17) combined for 55 points.
Beechwood is scheduled to play at Covington Catholic on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. in a 35th District showdown.
