The Highland Hawks have shown flashes of brilliance this year, but they’ve been inconsistent. On Tuesday night at Fairfax Christian however, the Hawks showed what they can do when they’re firing on all cylinders, registering an impressive 71-44 win.
“We needed it,” said Highland Head Coach Logan Miller of the victory. “We’ve looked good for stretches, but I don’t think we’ve played together yet. We’re peaking at the right time.”
The Hawks won Saint Stephen’s and St. Agnes’ Sleepy Thompson Tournament this season, a big accomplishment. In 2024 they’ve also lost by 21 to Mount Zion Prep (MD), a team Fairfax Christian beat. They were also coming off a loss last week to Grace Brethren Christian (MD), a team the Hawks had defeated at Sleepy Thompson.
Highland has only one senior, so maybe the inconsistency was to be expected against a tough schedule. They also have enormous talent, which came to play against 22-win Fairfax Christian on Tuesday.
The Hawks (15-9) led 16-15 after a quarter, but out-scored the Cardinals 21-6 in the second quarter. They did it with their three-point shooting, burying eight first half threes, and their defense. Guard Chance Perkins was four-for-four from beyond the arc in the first half, while fellow junior Nate Ament had 13 points and nine rebounds by halftime.
It was more of the same in the third quarter as the Hawks extended their lead to 56-32. The 6’9″ Ament, who has a scholarship offer from Duke, and 6’8″ Josh Hamilton (10 rebounds) controlled the boards inside. Both protected the paint well on defense, allowing Perkins, and guards Jeremiah Gorham and Julian Rivera, to harass Fairfax Christian into poor shots.
Those five Highland starters, all juniors, played very well. Perkins led the Hawks with a game-high 24 points, while Ament added 22. Gorham set the offense up all night and delivered eight assists, while the versatile Rivera effectively defended both posts and guards.
“We flew around [on defense] and shrunk the floor,” said Miller. “[On offense] we play a couple of different styles, we can get to the basket, we can shoot it. Whatever’s working, we go with it.”
Everything was working Tuesday night.
Senior forward Nijel Howard led the Cardinals (22-4) with 19 points.
–Chris Jollay