Basketball Recap: Newport Beats Highlands for Their Third Straight Victory

Newport had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 24 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Wednesday. They secured a 73-69 W over the Highlands Bluebirds. The Wildcats have seen this before: they got the W the last time they saw the Bluebirds, too.

Newport's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but James Turner led the charge by dropping a double-double on 12 points and 13 rebounds. That's the most boards Turner has posted since back in January of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Griffin Starks, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 16 rebounds.

Newport smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in five consecutive contests.

Newport is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a massive bump to their 12-7 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 68.3 points per game. As for Highlands, their loss was their first in the district, dropping their district record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 12-6.

Newport will square off against Archbishop Hoban at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. As for Highlands, they won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Bellevue at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Highlands knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past 18 contests -- so hopefully Bellevue likes a good challenge.