Maize’s Caleb Grill scores 27, but Heights’ balance prevails

It was Maize’s Caleb Grill who put on a spectacle in the opening quarter of Saturday night’s game at Koch Arena, but it was the versatility and depth of Heights that won the game.

Grill made five three-pointers and scored Maize’s first 19 points, but Maize couldn’t match Heights’ balanced effort as the Falcons prevailed 75-66 to improve to 7-2 this season. Maize lost its second straight game and fell to 6-3.

“He’s not the first kid we’ve watch make shots against us,” Heights coach Joe Auer said. “That’s the thing about playing in our league, we see players. We’ve guarded Israel Barnes, we’ve guarded Conner Frankamp. It doesn’t shock us to our core to see a kid get hot. We’re going to stay the course.”

Despite Grill’s hot start, Auer instructed his team to remain in its zone defense and the decision paid dividends as Grill eventually cooled off and Heights feasted in transition off the long rebounds Maize’s deep shots were creating.

“We had to trust our rotations and know where the shooters were,” Heights senior Anthoney Collins said. “We just had to trust our system and stick with it.”

More than half of Maize’s attempts came from beyond the arc and while the Eagles connected on a total of 11 three-pointers, they shot a tick under 40 percent. So despite Grill scoring a game-high 27 points with seven threes, Maize was never able to seize control of the game. Grant Bugbee added 14 points for Maize, while Tyson Love had 10 and Dalyn Johnson had eight.

Heights led 23-19 after the first quarter and 40-34 at halftime. Maize led briefly in the second quarter, but never came within striking distance of taking the lead on Heights in the second half.

“I thought our team did a nice job of moving the basketball in the first quarter and (Caleb Grill) was the guy they left open,” Maize coach Chris Grill said. “He was stepping into his shot and knocking them down and it was exciting to watch. I still thought we got a lot of those same good looks late, but we just didn’t hit as many.”

Along with its advantage in transition, Heights enjoyed a rebounding advantage over Maize as well.

The Falcons also had a balanced effort with six scorers between eight and 14 points in Decquan Richardson (14), Collins (13), Tyrell Andrews (12), K’Vonte Baker (11), Devin Davis (10), and Braxton Kirkendoll (eight).

“We’re able to do that because we share the ball,” Andrews said. “We’re not a selfish team and that’s why all five of our guys in the starting line-up score in double-digits a lot. We like to share the ball.”

While Grill may have provided some entertainment for fans with his hot shooting, Heights didn’t mind doing the little things that added up to victory on Saturday.

“They didn’t show much of an interest getting the ball inside,” Auer said. “And you’re not going to beat us if you’re a one-trick pony.”

This story was originally published January 14, 2017 at 7:17 PM with the headline "Maize’s Caleb Grill scores 27, but Heights’ balance prevails."