The Woodlands boys win at Oak Ridge

OAK RIDGE, Texas – There continues to be less and less doubt that the best boys’ basketball team in the state of Texas not ranked, has to be The Woodlands Highlanders.

Improving to 20-3 for the season and 3-0 in District 14-5A play Tuesday night, The Woodlands High School boys’ basketball team displayed an up temp style, a keen shooting eye from 3-point range, and tough defense in a 65-53 victory over Oak Ridge.

Yet, the Highlanders remain unranked in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches state poll. And so the mystery continues for another week.

No matter, the Highlanders were focused on their opponent Tuesday rather than the latest state rankings.

“I really liked our focus,” Highlanders coach Dale Reed said. “I thought we were ready to play.”

The Woodlands jumped out to an 18-6 lead and took control of the game early.

“We had a great start,” Reed said. “I thought Garrett Colonna was really special tonight. He just really stepped up and made some big shots and big rebounds.”

Colonna led all scorers with 18 points. Brandon Caporale added 10 more.

“I thought it was a whole team effort as far as just really getting after it,” Reed said.

The Highlanders maintained a 35-23 halftime lead and then caught fire from 3-point range in the third quarter. The Highlanders picked up the pace and ran away for a 19-9 advantage to take a 54-32 lead entering the final period.

“It was a little sloppy in the (fourth quarter) but I felt like we were in control the whole game,” Reed said. “We keep coming at it and keep coming at it and eventually it just kind of breaks our way. It was a 12-point game but it felt like it was a lot bigger than that.”

Marc Forson scored 11 points while Terrell Lawrence and Taw Mann added 10 points each for Oak Ridge (2-2, 14-8).