Highland boys basketball loses to Pella Christian

OSKALOOSA ? It wasn?t the outcome Highland boys basketball players or fans were hoping for Saturday, Feb. 25, as the Pella Christian Eagles defeated the Huskies in substate play by a 72-33 final.

It was a packed Oskaloosa High School gym as supporters from both schools were on hand to witness Class 2A District 5 substate action in which Pella Christian took the lead early and kept it the entire evening.

The Eagles? offense was tough for Highland to break through, as Highland coach Marcus Hall said.

?They are a good team, so I give them credit there. Good inside and good outside.

?Early, we just didn?t get things to go down around the hoop and maybe that caused us to press a little bit. I don?t think we played our best defensive game, either.?

Pella Christian had the lead from the beginning as they would go up 19-9 after the first quarter.

They held Highland back to only eight points in the second quarter while scoring 19 more to have a 38-17 lead at the half.

Highland tried to recover in the third quarter, but had difficulty as they were only able to score nine points, while Pella Christian doubled that by having 18 points.

In the fourth quarter, Highland was held back to only scoring seven points and the Eagles pulled even further ahead by scoring an additional 16 points to secure their trip to the state tournament.

Hall said one part of not getting points was the lack of rebounding.

?We did get beat on the glass tonight, that?s for sure.?

The top scorers in the game were Trent Lasek and Chase Rath, both having nine points. But getting more points in the game was challenge, Hall says.

?The strength of our team is balance. Obviously, Pella Christian held us to only 33 points, so there wasn?t a lot of scoring to go around.?

Other points came from Zack Lasek with five, Bill Burton and Trey Lasek both scored three and Bryce Clarke and Jake Wood both had two points apiece.

With the loss, the game marked the final time seniors Jake Wood, Bill Burton, Bryce Clarke, Chase Rath and Trent Lasek will don Highland uniforms. They will definitely be missed next season, Hall says.

?I?m going to miss them a lot. I?ve been with them for four years. They are all really good players and good young men.

?The team was co-champ last year. This year the team won the conference and district titles. They will still be around when I coach in the future as the standard as what you?d like to get to.?

The legacy they will leave behind will be strong. ?I don?t think anyone coming behind them has to be them,? Hall says.

?They just have to work as hard as they do and build on what they?ve started to build themselves.?

Now that the Highland boys basketball season is over, Hall?s and the team?s work isn?t completely over.

In the offseason there will be one focus: developing.

?We have some talent in the younger ranks and they have to develop quickly because they have to get ready since we are losing so many players.?

The loss ends Highland?s season at 19-5.