Highlanders rally past Klein Forest

THE WOODLANDS, Texas - Cameron Burkett and The Woodlands Highlander basketball team pulled off a mild upset over the Klein Forest Eagles (11-3) , 72-57 before a sparse crowd at home Tuesday night.

Burkett scored 26 points on the strength of six 3-pointers. Not to be outdone was Clay Creighton who scored a season-high 18 points, with 11 in the final quarter helping to turn a one point nail-biter after three quarters into a rout.

The Woodlands (9-5) jumped on the Eagles right after the opening tip as five Highlanders lit the lamp in the first quarter. At the other end of the court, their pressure defense caused four quick turnovers enabling the Highlanders to take a 20-12 lead after the first stanza.

Klein Forest appeared to be unfazed as they owned the second quarter outscoring the Highlanders 21-9 led by Nacory Hester's eight points as the Eagles took a 33-29 lead into the locker room.

To start the second half, Burkett was on fire as he lit up the Eagles for 11 points to include three bombs bringing the Highlanders to within one point after three quarters of play, 48-47.

That was the last lead Klein Forest would enjoy. The Clay Creighton show was about to begin.

Above average shooting percentage was obviously one of the keys to victory. Besides the obvious, Coach Dale Reed elaborated on his team's play...

"Defense! We focused on defense at the Corpus Christi tournament. We talked about defense being the answer and our guys have really bought in and are D-ing people up."

Romello Wilbert scored 14 points. Kyle Spears had 6. Jacob Patterson-4. Jack Hammett-2. James Primavera-2.

Along with Hester's 19, other Klein Forest contributors were Rashon Thomas with 14. Deandre Williams had 11 and Cedrick Alley had 8.

The Woodlands next action will be against Cy Springs at the Bear Branch 9th grade campus on Friday at 7pm.