JEFFERSON TWP — Highlands coach Rich Falter has employed a dribble motion offense the past few seasons.

When it's run properly, it usually spells trouble for opponents. On Wednesday, the Golden Rams ran it to near perfection in a Section 1-AAA boys basketball matchup against Knoch.

Four Highlands players reached double figures — led by Mike Trenski's 22 points, 18 coming on six 3-pointers — as the Rams downed the Knights 71-54.

"It's a players offense," said Falter. "The coach has no choice out there. What makes this offense work is when it shares the ball, it can be a great offense."

Knoch coach Chris Andreassi agreed.

"They're not like they usually are. They're better," said Andreassi. "That's one of the most unselfish teams I've seen in the last three years. They pass the ball well.

"They're a good basketball team. It's hard to match up with them. It's hard to zone them," Andreassi added.

Knoch was holding on to a 13-12 lead early before Highlands (8-4, 3-1) scored nine unanswered points on baskets by Micah Mason and Reuben King, a 3-pointer by Damon Porter and a pair of free throws by Jeff Sinclair to take a 21-13 lead with 38 seconds left in the quarter.

Highlands clamped down on defense during that span, going to a trap and getting some turnovers in the process.

"We didn't handle that well," said Andreassi. "We typically think we can handle the pressure better than that."

The Knights (5-6, 2-2) scored six of the game's next points, thanks to two Jake McTighe scores and another by Chris Cetnar, to trim the deficit to 23-19, but the Rams went on a 10-2 spurt to take a 33-21 advantage.

McTighe had the hot hand for the Knights, scoring 14 of his game-high 23 points in the first half. Knoch trailed 36-26 at the break.

Highlands came out in the second half clicking again, scoring the first nine points to surge to a 45-26 lead.

Knoch trailed 57-40 early in the fourth quarter before making one final run at the Rams.

A free throw by Micah Lio, then a three-point play and two baskets by McTighe made it 57-48 with five minutes remaining.

Then came the game breaker, according to Andreassi.

"We had two straight possessions and one where we missed a short shot," said Andreassi. "They take the basketball, go down and make a 3-pointer (by Trenski). We had the chance to cut it to seven, instead it went to 12 and that really was the game."

The Rams received 16 points from Porter, 14 from King and 10 from Mason.

Knoch's Mike Gallagher scored 15 points, including three 3-pointers, and Lio had nine.

HIGHLANDS 71Damon Porter 7 0-3 16, Jeff Sinclair 2 4-7 8, Micah Mason 4 1-2 10, Mike Trenski 8 0-0 22, Reuben King 5 4-4 14, Dyllon Powell 0 0-0 0, Jeff Campbell 0 1-2 1. Totals: 26 10-18 71.

KNOCH 54Mike Gallagher 5 2-2 15, Andrew Wirtz 0 0-0 0, Jake McTighe 11 1-1 23, Micah Lio 3 3-4 9, Chris Cetnar 3 1-1 7, Kevin Wood 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22 7-8 54.

Highlands 21 15 19 16—71Knoch 15 11 14 14—543-point goals: Trenski 6, Porter 2, Mason; Gallagher 3

JV: Knoch, 56-39

Friday: Knoch at Valley