No. 5 Covington Catholic races past No. 24 Highlands in heated matchup

No. 24 Highlands (12-2) was attempting to hold a permanent spot in the statewide rankings after rejoining this week, hosting No. 5 Covington Catholic (16-1) on Friday night. The Bluebirds net a respectable 40 points in the first half. But the Colonels got off the line in sixth gear, scoring 52 on over 63% shooting by halftime, en route to an 88-66 thumping.

Highlands struggled to keep up from the jump. Cov Cath accelerated to a 29-20 lead after the first quarter, with Braeden Myrick splashing four treys in the quarter alone.

“Big thing for us is running in transition, which we did a really nice job of,” said Cov Cath coach Jake Thelen.

With high speed comes high friction; words being exchanged during and after the game between Cov Cath and a tight-packed crowd still buzzing off a Highlands blowout JV win.

Myrick finished with 28 points on five made threes, but he wasn’t the only Colonel stuffing the stat sheet: Athens McGillis recorded a double-double with 28 and 10 assists; Cash Harney with a near triple-double on 11 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds; and Donovan Bradshaw with a 20-point, six-rebound, three-block performance.

Thelen had high praise for his core group.

“We have really good players, like Athens McGillis is the best player in the region. I don’t even really think it’s close…Cash Harney gets downhill, gets to the rim, unbelievable player. You got Braden Myrick, king of threes. Donovan Bradshaw played the best game of this season.”

“We hang out off the court, we eat together, we always together. And yeah, carries on to the game,” said Myrick.

Cov Cath also overwhelmed Highlands on the defensive side, gathering eight blocks and nine steals as a team.

In the second half, the game slowed down, with the split 37-26 in the Colonels’ favor, but their starters stayed aggressive until their last nail in the coffin: a high-energy 6-0 run, scoring in transition, forcing turnovers, and diving on loose balls in the final few minutes before exiting the game.

Highlands had three players in double figures: Finn Bouldin scoring 16, and Vincent Listerman and Owen Ebert with 11 apiece.

Tayden Lorenzen, son of UK football legend Jared Lorenzen, notched seven points, with six in the fourth quarter off some nifty post moves.

This is Covington Catholic’s seventh win in a row over Highlands, dating back to 2020. They are now 5-0 in the 9th Region this season.