The Baldwin boys basketball team defeated Thomas Jefferson 72-58 on Tuesday night. 

Early in the first quarter shots were not falling for either team, but by the end of the quarter, both teams started heating up and the score was 17-16 Baldwin. The Highlanders never looked back, as they never let TJ take the lead again and ended up winning by 14 points. 

Sophomore Matt Schenk complimented junior teammate Nate Richards on his scoring. 

“He came out with confidence and was able to blow by his defenders with ease to end with 17 points,” Schenk said. 

The Highlanders did a good job of controlling the pace of the game, Schenk said. 

“We attacked the rebounds and pushed the ball in order to speed TJ up. It made it tougher for them since they are a slower paced team,” Schenk said. 

Although Baldwin led all game, TJ did not give up, showing resilience in the end of the third quarter and cutting Baldwin’s lead to only six points. 

Baldwin can work on “playing at our best all game. We have a tendency to slow down in the third quarter, which can kill us against a high level team,” sophomore Nate Wesling said. 

Schenk said the Highlanders can always focus on their shot selection as they continue through the season.

“We can improve on our shot selection. We have moments where we need to slow our offense down and move the ball to be able to get a good shot,” Schenk said. 

The next game for Baldwin is against West Mifflin at 6 p.m. at Franklin Regional for the Rettger Memorial Tournament.