NATRONA HEIGHTS — Jordan Shoop certainly tried to bring the Knoch High School boys basketball team back from a huge second-half deficit.

But even his Herculean effort in the fourth quarter wasn't enough in a 76-71 section loss to Highlands Friday night.

"We tried to guard him the entire floor to tire out his legs," said Highlands coach Rich Falter. "We put four different guys on him and I think he scored 10 points for each one."

Not quite, but close.

Shoop ended up with 35 points, including 20 in the fourth quarter after Knoch had fallen behind by 16 late in the third period.

The senior point guard was 7-of-11 from the field in the final frame and hit all four of his free throws.

"That's what he is supposed to do, really," said Knoch coach Les Shoop. "He's a senior point guard and a captain."

Jordan Shoop managed just seven points in the first half as the Knights fell behind by nine.

Knoch fell behind by that much because of cool shooting on its part and torrid shooting by Highlands.

The Rams hit 15-of-24 shots in the first 16 minutes. Wade Edwards was really hot for Highlands, connecting on six of his seven shots for 15 points in the first two quarters.

"Shoot good, look good," Les Shoop said. "They shot good and looked good."

Freshman point guard Damon Porter looked particularly good, doing a fair amount of damage for Highlands.

He scored 27 points and made some nifty passes while driving the lane.

"He played extremely well," Les Shoop said. "He was definitely the difference in the game. Not only did he score, but he pitched it and allowed other people to score."

For Knoch, scoring wasn't a problem. The point distribution was, however.

The Knights also received 24 points from Rob Briggs inside the paint.

Other than Jordan Shoop and Briggs, Knoch received just 12 points.

"Robbie Briggs played well," Les Shoop said. "We just needed a few other people to score. We can't expect those two to score all the points."

Knoch struggled from behind the 3-point arc — a place where it usually thrives. The Knights missed their first 13 shots from beyond the arc and finished just 2-of-17.

Meanwhile, Highlands hit six 3-pointers.

"We dug ourselves a hole, and we just couldn't get out of it," Les Shoop said.

Highlands dug the hole was dug early when the Rams raced out to a 17-8 lead in the first quarter and spent most of the remainder of the game cultivating it.

That strategy almost backfired.

"We were just looking at the clock, hoping it would tick faster," Falter said. "Maybe that was a mistake."

Highlands also made things a bit more intriguing than it needed to be by missing free throws down the stretch.

That left the door open for Jordan Shoop, who helped Knoch close the gap to 58-55 with three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Knoch got it down to 75-71 and had possession with less than a minute to go.

"We were trading one point for three points for a while," Falter said. "That wasn't good."

Les Shoop was a bit dismayed by the slow start.

"I think it meant more to them than us," the coach said.

KNOCH 71

Scott Muska 0-5 5-6 5, Jordan Shoop 14-25 5-7 35, Paul Hancheck 0-0 0-0 0, D'Ante Natili 0-0 0-0 0, Bill Elliott 3-5 1-2 7, Rob Briggs 10-21 4-6 24, Alex Whisler 0-2 0-2 0. Totals: 27-58 15-23 71

HIGHLANDS 76

Larry Alexander 0-0 0-0 0, Damon Porter 8-13 9-11 27, Coty Coffman 5-7 2-6 13, Jeff Sinclair 0-1 0-0 0, Cory Ballard 0-0 0-0 0, J.J. Gourley 2-4 2-4 6, Dane Porter 2-7 5-8 9, Wade Edwards 9-17 0-2 21. Totals: 31-59 18-31 76

3-point goals:

Shoop 2, Damon Porter 2, Coffman, Edwards 3

JV:

Knoch 47-40

Tuesday:

Valley at Knoch