The Woodlands boys down C.E. King

THE WOODLANDS, Texas – The Woodlands High School boys’ basketball team improved to 2-1 on the young season with an 88-59 victory over C.E. King Tuesday night in the nightcap of a girls/boys doubleheader in the Highlanders gym.

Wes Cole poured in 27 points while Brandon Caporale and Garrett Colonna combined for another 27 points to help secure the victory.

Highlanders coach Dale Reed said his team’s output was about what he expected.

“I went and watched C.E. King yesterday,” Reed said. “They played Texas City. And I felt like watching them that if we do what we do, we could score 80-plus points.

“So I was real proud of our guys that we got 88 tonight.”

The Woodlands extended a 22-8 first-quarter into a 49-24 halftime advantage. The Highlanders won all four quarters, outscoring the 1-2 Panthers 20-17 in the third quarter and 19-18 in the final period.

But Reed pointed out that the visitors came into the game short-handed.

“C.E. King, their best player is out right now with an injury, so they’re going to be good in January, February,” Reed said. “Right now they’re just trying to figure some things out. So for us it’s a good time to catch them. They’re not at full strength.”

Still, Reed said that Tuesday’s game was a good test for the Highlanders.

“They’re up temp. They get after you like a lot of the teams that we play do. And I was real proud of how we came out.

“Last year we had a 20-point lead on them in the second half and had to win in overtime. C.E. King is the type of team that they can get back into it right away. This year we handled them the whole way.”