Highland boys cruise past Columbus

Despite a big game burgeoning on the horizon, the Highland boys? basketball team wasn?t looking past anyone on Monday night.

The Huskies got out to a fast start and never looked back in an 82-57 victory over Columbus, setting up a big showdown at Lone Tree on Tuesday night.

The victory puts Highland at 13-2 overall (11-2 in conference play) and in a tie for first place of the Southeast Iowa Super Conference with Lone Tree, whom the Huskies beat earlier in the season at home, 51-50.

?We are clicking, and in that first quarter (Jesse Wollrab) got hurt, so we were without him for a little bit,? Highland sophomore Trent Lasek said. ?We are going to have him tomorrow night, so we?ll be clicking again.?

In the first quarter, Highland left little doubt what direction this game with the Wildcats would be going in, opening up the game with a 21-3 run, en route to a 28-8 first quarter. After that point, Columbus was able to prevent the deficit from getting much worse, but couldn?t pull much closer.

?We just didn?t have it tonight,? Columbus boys? head coach David Lekwa said. ?We came out and tried some different stuff tonight, and it didn?t really work. There?s a reason (Highland) is sitting at the top of the conference. They are a dang good team. We didn?t shoot the ball well, we didn?t rebound well, and you have to be doing all of those things to compete against Highland.?

Things remained even in the second quarter, leading to a 43-25 lead for Highland at halftime.

Coming out of the gate in the second half, Columbus hit a pair of 3-pointers to pull within 13, but couldn?t close the gap any further, as Highland hit a season-high in total points on the night.

The Wildcats (1-13) are going through a rebuilding year, and Lekwa said his team?s biggest issue has been getting consistency throughout the season.

?We just aren?t consistent at all,? Lekwa said. ?We come in and play a tough IMS team that comes down to the wire, then turn around and look like we are a bad team. Some guys are still trying to find some shots, and we?ve shown we are capable of playing with the top teams, but we just need to start playing more consistently.?

Highland put in a season high in points, but their defense played well all night, contesting many shots on the night.

?We just wanted to come out and out-hustle them,? Highland sophomore Bill Burton said. ?We got a lot of steals and just out-played them.?

Lasek led Highland with 31 points on the night, while Burton has been playing well for the Huskies as of late, with a seven-point performance on Monday.

Burton and Lasek will need to be on their games for Tuesday night.

?These last couple of games, shots have just been falling for me,? Burton said. ?I hope tomorrow night I can go out and do the same and play smart defense and just hustle.?

The one-point affair at Highland against Lone Tree was a tough victory for the Huskies, but to do that on the road, the team knows it?s going to take a lot more.

?We have to come out and play the best defense we?ve played all year, and especially the best game we?ve played all year,? Lasek said. ?It?s going to be hard to go in there and knock them off, but we have the team to do it.?

The game against Lone Tree will start at approximately 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday, while Columbus will host the only team they?ve beaten this season, Wapello.