Brett Morris Scores 39 Points as Highlanders Win Over Class AAA Shady Spring

CAUTION: The above video shows a player sustaining an ankle injury and may be somewhat graphic to view.

The 8th ranked Class AA Webster County Highlanders won a nip and tuck affair over the Class AAA powerhouse Shady Spring Tigers 69 to 64 Tuesday evening at Upperglade.

Shady Spring, which moved from Class AA to Class AAA this year, featured first team all-state player Chase Conner, who shared those first team honors with Highlander star Brett Morris last season. In the first quarter, Conner and the Tigers appeared to outmatch the Highlanders as Shady Spring mounted an 18 to 10 lead at the end of the quarter.

In the second quarter, Morris and the Highlanders fought back. The Highlanders led briefly at 28 to 27 with 2:33 remaining before halftime, but the Tigers roared back for a 33 to 30 halftime lead.

Shady Spring held a 3 point lead at 39 to 36 when Conner rolled his ankle with 4:50 remaining in the third quarter. Conner's injury prevented him from returning the remainder of the game. Time and time again prior to his injury, Conner's smooth three point shooting kept Webster at bay. The accompanying video to this article appears to show that Conner stepped on Morris' right front foot, causing Conner to roll his ankle.

Despite Conner's absence after his injury, Shady Spring built up a 7 point lead at 48 to 41 with 1:30 remaining in the third quarter. Logan Taylor, Robbie Cogar, Morris, and Dalton Davis then made four quick baskets in a row as Webster went on an 8 to 0 run to end the quarter with a narrow 49 to 48 lead.

The fourth quarter kept the Webster faithful on the edge of their seats as the teams traded the lead numerous times. Morris then took total charge of the game, scoring at least 12 points with less than 5:10 remaining in the game.

Webster took the lead for good at 61 to 58 with 4:00 remaining after Morris was fouled making a layup and he made the ensuing free throw. The Highlanders then opened up a 6 point lead twice, at 3:45 and 1:35 remaining in the game. Webster then held on for the final 69 to 64 score.

Morris, who was obviously pumped up to play against Class AAA Shady Spring and his fellow first team all-state player Conner, turned in his second best scoring output of the season. Morris finished with 39 points, making a hot 62 percent of his shots, and went 8 of 12 from the free throw line. Morris also had 10 rebounds, 6 blocked shots, 4 steals, and 1 assist.

After the game, Morris had a lot of praise for Chase Conner. Morris said he hated to see Chase injured. Morris admitted he was very tired in the first half chasing Conner all around the court. "He can shoot from anywhere. You can't give him any space," he added.

Dalton Davis was the only other Highlander to score in double figures, finishing with 14 points. Along with his points, Davis had 9 rebounds and 1 blocked shot.

Other Webster players on the game stat sheet included: Robbie Cogar, 8 points, 3 steals, 2 rebounds; Hunter Given, 3 points, 3 steals, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 blocked shots; Guy Cowger, 2 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists; Logan Taylor, 2 points, 1 rebound; Drew Green, 1 point, 5 rebounds, 1 steal.

As a team, Webster made 25 of 52 shots (48%), including 2 of 6 from three point range (33%). The team's foul line woes continued as they made only 17 of 34 free throws (50%).

With the win, Webster improved to an outstanding 16 wins, 3 losses on the season, with one regular season game remaining on Thursday at Upperglade against Midland Trail. Webster will host an opening round sectional playoff game next Tuesday, February 26, 2013, at 7:00 p.m. against the winner of the Braxton County - Ravenswood game that will be played on Monday, February 25, 2013.