second half to break open a close game and keep Highland winless.

* Hollingsworth finished with 20 points and nine rebounds.

Noel Hollingsworth was the first one to admit he experienced a rough first half against Highland. The Judge Memorial center found himself hoisting up fadeaway jumpers and repeatedly getting beat on rebounds.

So Hollingsworth took it upon himself to set things right in the second half.

“I was more energized because I knew someone had to take over in the third quarter,” he said. “Otherwise it was going to be like the last two years where Highland goes on a run and we lose again.”

Hollingsworth made certain no run materialized. He scored 10 of the Bulldogs' first 13 second-half points, helping Judge secure an easy 51-37 road victory over the defending Class 4-A champions in prep boys' basketball action Tuesday night.

Hollingsworth finished with 20 points and nine rebounds. Cort Dennison added 16 points for the Bulldogs.

Judge led by one, 20-19, when Hollingsworth started them on a 15-2 run with a layup before the third quarter was 15 seconds old. He proceeded to score five of the team's first six baskets of the quarter - capped off by another layup off a fastbreak that put the Bulldogs up 33-21.

These type of dominating performances have been his trademark all season and have drawn comparisons between him and his predecessor Daniel Deane. But Hollingsworth doesn't feel pressured to live up to Deane. “No one around school is like, 'You better play as well as Deane did against this team,' ” he said.

Dennison added a pair of three-pointers and a layup to extend Judge's lead to 40-25. The Rams cut it to nine a minute into the fourth quarter, but Hollingsworth hit a layup and put back a missed jumper by Jaxon Myaer to make it 44-31 with 5:54 remaining.