Laseks lead Highland triumph

COLUMBUS JUNCTION - The position of point guard in basketball and quarterback in football are not very different. Both positions entail directing an offense and finding open receivers to get the ball to. Trey Lasek, an all-state player in football, led Highland to a 71-45 Southeast Iowa Super Conference North Division win Friday in Columbus Junction.

Lasek either scored or assisted on the first five baskets of the game for Highland. He finished with 18 points and 12 assists. His double-double wasn't the only one for Highland or even for the Lasek family as his brother Zack had 21 points and 10 rebounds.

'Brody (Burton) and Zack and Cole (Adamson) and Mason (McFarland) were just showing me their hands,” Trey Lasek said. 'Anytime somebody gets their hands up, I want to get them the ball. They did a really good job moving. It's fun to play with these guys because we have so much camaraderie.”

It was an 18-10 lead after the first quarter for Highland.

'We have versatile players,” Highland head coach Marcus Hall said. 'No matter who we pass it to, they can dribble drive and shoot. I thought Trey did a really good job of attacking gaps.”

Trey Lasek poured in nine points in the second quarter to build the lead to 31-14.

Columbus coach Dave Lewka called timeout and the Wildcats went on an 8-1 run to get within 32-22 at halftime.

Eric Valdez scored six of those and had 14 points at halftime for Columbus.

'Eric certainly carried us, but we are hopeful some of these other boys can start chipping away,” Lekwa said. 'Eric was on, but I don't think we moved around him very well. Besides being our best scorer, I think he is our best passer.”

Zack Lasek scored 16 points in the second half, making 8 of 9 free throws.

'He is probably our best free-throw shooter,” Hall said of the 6-foot-8 junior. 'He was getting aggressive and playing at the rim. We like when he does that because he is a load down there. He does a good job cleaning the glass and helping us get out in transition.”

It was 52-36 at the end of the third quarter.

'We have the mentality to tune the scoreboard out a little bit,” Lekwa said. 'Going into a game like that, you already know how you stand. They are a really solid team that Coach Hall does a really good job with.”

Highland is 6-1 overall, 5-1 North and plays at No. 7 New London tonight.

Columbus is 1-5, 1-4 and plays at Iowa Mennonite School Tuesday.

'It's a process to get better and that is a process we are working on,” Lekwa said.