In what's become a running theme this season, the Highland Hawks gave their fans yet another huge win on Tuesday. Everything went their way against Desert Ridge as Highland made off with a 56-36 victory. Given Highland's advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 24th, while the Jaguars are ranked 140th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Highland found their leader in underclassman Nick Reber, who scored 17 points along with seven steals. Reber hasn't dropped below 17 points for three straight games. Max Robison was another key contributor, scoring six points along with six rebounds.
When it comes to explaining why Desert Ridge lost, one person who can't be blamed is Major Wootan. Despite the final result, he scored 12 points along with two steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Payton Lapping, who scored ten points along with five rebounds.
Highland pushed their record up to 15-5 with that victory, which was their sixth straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.7 points per game. As for Desert Ridge, they have been struggling recently as they've lost six of their last eight matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-13 record this season.
Highland will head out on the road to square off against the Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. One thing working in Gilbert's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last five contests. As for Desert Ridge, they will be playing in front of their home fans against the Aztecs at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Hopefully Corona del Sol focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 12 on Tuesday.