Highland escapes Nikes late charge

This season, senior Nick Sandburg has been coming off the bench for the Highland boys? basketball team, but he hit one of the biggest shots of the season on Monday night.

Against Burlington, Notre Dame, the Highland senior found himself under the basket with the ball, down one, with 20 seconds left. What happened next was something the Huskies practice every day.

?Coach Barry works with us every day in practice on our one dribble and then power up,? Sandburg said. ?That?s what went through my head and that?s what got us through that.?

Sandburg?s late shot went in, and a set of free throws from fellow senior Tucker Hall helped seal the Huskies? 61-57 victory over the Nikes.

?We?ve been (having him come off the bench) so he can play the last three quarters stress free and not worry about foul trouble,? Highland head coach Marcus Hall said. ?He?s a starter-quality player, and his importance to us was not diminished one bit; in fact, it?s heightened. He?s been mature about it and it was a huge play.?

The Huskies improved to 6-1 on the season, their only loss coming to Wapello on Dec. 4.

Highland looked to be in control from the start of the game, as it jumped out to an early 15-6 lead over the Nikes, highlighted by seven points from Tereze Lanfair.

The Nikes responded quickly with a 9-2 run, but the Huskies resisted in something that would become a theme of the night.

After extending their lead to 12 points at 35-23, the Nikes didn?t let the Huskies go away.

Notre Dame used an 11-4 run that extended into the third quarter, closing the gap to five points, and eventually drew within two points, before Sandburg hit a 3-pointer to end the third.

A Lanfair 3-pointer put Highland up by eight, but once again Highland saw the lead dwindle. A Nike 7-0 run made it a one-point game, before Lanfair and Hall hit buckets to make it a 56-50 game with 1:30 to play.

Another 7-0 Nike run gave them the lead with 30 seconds left and after a missed free throw, Highland was able to find Sandburg for the go-ahead shot.

On the ensuing possession, Notre Dame was called for a travel, and immediately argued the call, drawing a technical foul.

Hall knocked down one of the technical free throws, and added two more on the next possession to ice the game for the Huskies.

?Up six with 1:30 left, we have to find a way to make that not a close game,? Marcus Hall said. ?That was a concern, but we had guys step up and hit a few big ones down the stretch, so we?ll count those.?