The crowd at Tuesday's league challenge between the Highlands Highlanders (Highlands, NC) and the host Blue Ridge Early College Bobcats (Cashiers, NC), observed Highlands's basketball team knock off Blue Ridge Early College by a score of 43-27.

The Highlanders (6-13) will now prepare for their challenge against Nantahala (Topton, NC). The Hawks come into the 1A Smoky Mountain challenge with a 8-10 record. In their last challenge, Nantahala dropped by Hiwassee Dam (Murphy, NC), 76-63, in a league challenge.

In their next game, the Bobcats encounter the Hayesville Yellowjackets (Hayesville, NC) in a non-league challenge, on Wednesday, January 29. Blue Ridge Early College will attempt to improve on its 2-12 season record. The Yellowjackets come into the challenge with a 6-9 record after their 81-25 non-league win over Blue Ridge Early College (Cashiers, NC).