The Highlands Ranch Falcons waltzed into their match Monday with two straight wins but they left with three. They walked away with a 73-62 victory over Columbine. Given Highlands Ranch's advantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 80th, while Columbine is ranked 267th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Highlands Ranch got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Nick Gleason out in front who scored 18 points along with three steals. That's the first time this season that Gleason scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Luke Bakken, who scored 15 points along with six rebounds and five assists.
Despite the loss, Columbine saw an underclassman step up: Cash Boykin dropped a double-double on 21 points and 12 rebounds. Boykin scored a full 33.9% of Columbine's points, the ninth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Noah Birely, who scored 15 points.
Even though they lost, Columbine were working as a unit and finished the game with 11 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Highlands Ranch only racked up 24 assists.
Highlands Ranch's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-3. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 73.5 points per game. As for Columbine, they still haven't won a game yet this season and fell to 0-10.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Highlands Ranch will take on Rock Canyon at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Columbine, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Bear Creek at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
