Gilbert boys basketball coach Jay Caserio's greatest show of emotion Tuesday night came when one of his players drew a charge in the third period of the Tigers game with rival Highland High.

Defense is what excites Caserio and it was Gilbert's effort in that aspect  that paved the way to a 69-56 win over Highland at GIilbert.

"We press a little, but mostly we play straight man," Caserio said. "Just enough pressure that we can get back and be set to play. I thought our defense was really good."

Gilbert, which opened the season three weeks ago winning Mesa High's Fear the Hop Tournament, ran its record to 6-2 with its latest win and is now 3-1 in power-point games. The Tigers got enough offense from starters Erik Crawford (21 points) and Conner Helvig (13 points). But perhaps the biggest lift came from players off their bench -- senior guards Deandre Myles and Austin Harper.

Myles and Harper tallied 13 and 10 points, respectively. Myles 10 of his in the second half and Harper all of his after intermission. Harper's contribution was his defense, which of course didn't go unnoticed by Caserio.

"(Harper) has been in our program for four years," Caserio said. "He drew two or three charges. Played really wel defensively. Myles helped us on the boards.You can do rebounding drills, try to coach it. He has the instincts. He got some big putbacks for us."

Gilbert took a narrow 30-26 lead to the third period and a very strong stanza defensively separated the teams. The Tigers outscored Highland 17-9 in the quarter and limited the Hawks to one field goal and only five field-goal attempts to go with seven turnovers. That basket went to Highland's leading scorer Jake Toolson, who entered the game averaging just more than 19 points a game. Toolson had 13 points in the first half. A quiet third period from the Hawks main offenisve threat didn't help matters. Toolson, a 6-foot-5 sophomore, finished with 2. The final ninepoints came with the outcome no longer in doubt.

"We had (Cody Martin) on Toolson based on our scouting report," Caserio said. "He got in foul trouble and we had to change. Helvig played him some late in the second quarter and did a good job. We kept him on Toolson. Toolson's the real deal. He made some long threes from the volleyball line that looked like he was shooting free throws."

Highland (3-7) had to fight foul trouble late in the third period. The only other player seemingly in the offensive flow for the Hawks was Imani Washington. Washington finished with nine points, seven in the first half. He went to the bench in the third period with four fouls and eventually fouled out. Toolson did as well in the final minute.