RIVERSIDE

Making sure they don’t enter the new year without a victory under their belt, the Huskies (1-3) cruised to a 67-48 home conference win over Wapello (0-6) on Dec. 17.   

For Highland this is its first win over Wapello since 2020, snapping a six-game losing streak they had at the hands of the Indians. This was also Highland’s first win over a conference opponent since 2022.

“It’s always nice to get a win, especially at home. We needed that and I thought we played extremely well,” Highland head coach Bill Zywiec said about the win over Wapello. “Kids hit open shots and when you’re hitting open shots, that makes the game a little easier.”

The offense was humming for the Huskies right out of the gate as they scored 18 in the first and then 20 in the second, entering the half with an 18-point advantage. Another 20-point quarter by Highland in the third put Wapello in a 25-point hole they couldn’t dig out of with only one quarter left to play.

Finishing with 30-points on the night to lead his team to victory was Bryce Hazelett. The Highland junior also nabbed a team high seven steals. Logan McFarland was Highland’s second highest scorer with 14 and he also had a team best eight rebounds.

WACO 67, Highland 43

In their last game before the holiday break, the Huskies were defeated at home by WACO (5-1) on Dec. 19.   

The Warriors continued to excel in conference play this season with this win raising their conference record to 5-0 while Highland’s conference record drops to 1-4.

“WACO is just very well coached. They don’t hurt themselves, so in order to compete with them, you can’t continue to make mistake after mistake, because they take advantage of it,” Highland coach Bill Zywiec said. “They’re just very disciplined. They don’t force it when it’s not there. They’re very patient on their offense and then when they have a chance to win, they look to run.”

Taking control of the game from the get-go, the Warriors went on a 9-0 run in the first quarter and after two quarters of play their lead grew to 17.

“We talked about just doing the little things correctly. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot, missing some open layups, missing some free throws. And against a good team, you have to make those,” coach Zywiec said about the first half.

Regrouping after halftime, the Huskies out scored the Warriors in the third quarter, even bringing their deficit down to as little as nine.   

“We talked about just sticking with what our game plan was, doing the little things correctly. I thought we did that for the most part of the third quarter,” coach Zywiec said. “I thought we took care of the ball a little bit better. I think we were on a 12-2 run at one point in that third quarter, and that really helps.”

Highland’s comeback was stopped short in the final frame courtesy of a 22-point fourth quarter by the Warriors. After dropping its season opener, WACO has now won five straight games and sit atop of the SEISC North. 

Leading the Huskies on offense with a double double was Louis Horak who scored 11 and pulled down 10 rebounds.

Taking a break for the holidays, up next for Highland (1-4) is a home conference game against Pekin (3-2) on Jan. 3.

WAPELLO 48, HIGHLAND 67

Wapello     7    13   13   15 -- 48

Highland   18   20   20   9  -- 67

Highland leading scorers: Bryce Hazelett 30, Logan McFarland 14, William Dunbar 7

Highland leading rebounders: McFarland 8, Jacob Schneider 6, Jesse Thompson 5

WACO 67, HIGHLAND 43

WACO      16  18  11   22 -- 67

Highland  7   10   14   12 -- 43

Highland leading scorers: Louis Horak 11, Logan McFarland 9, Bryce Hazelett 9

WACO leading scorers: Christian Stacy 16, Isaac Egli 13, Clayton Miller 12

Highland leading rebounders: Horak 10, McFarland 7, Jacob Schneider 7

WACO leading rebounders: Miller 8, Stacy 5, Egli 4