---

Highland guard Austin Yager--the only senior on the team--showed how much four years of hard work can pay off.
Thursday night he virtually put his team on his shoulders, took the pounding in the fourth quarter, and iced a 48-40 non-conference win over Black Hawk for Highland's first victory of the season. The 6-0 senior guard made five of seven free throws in the final frame as the Cardinals took a 14-9 advantage to the final horn.
Yager ended up with 17 points to take game honors. He also played a part in the Cardinals getting out of the chute with a 20-10 margin in the third quarter, netting four points that supported the frame leading eight by JR Linscheid. Nate Michek and Alex Michek also had four points each in the quarter.
"We had good balance all night," said coach Mitchell Dorshorst. "But when it came down to it, we wanted the ball in Austin's hands. We trust him and he took us to the win."
Linscheid also had double figures for the Cardinals with 15 points.
Black Hawk got 14 from  Troy Wellnitz and 11 from Heath Butler.
It was the defensive focus on Butler that helped the Cardinals the most.
"We knew going in we were not going to let him beat us," said Dorshorst. "We keyed on him all night and did a good job shutting him down. He is an amazing athlete."
Both teams made 17 baskets with four of them threes but Highland had a 10 for 17 night at the free throw line compared to Black Hawks's two for four.
"We played well," Dorshorst said. "It was good to see scoring balance and a solid defensive effort."
SCORE BY QUARTERS
BH 8 13 10 9 40
H 4 10 20 14 48
BOX SCORE
BLACK HAWK 40 (fg-ft-tp) Quinn 3-0-9, Butler 5-1-11, Wellnitz 6-1-14, Monson 1-0-2, Woodruff 2-0-4 Totals 17-2/4-40 Fouls-14
HIGHLAND 48: N. Michek 2-2-6, Linscheid 6-0-15, A. Michek 3-1-8, Yager 5-7-17, Minter 1-0-2 Totals 17-10/17-48 Fouls-8
3 point goals:
BH-Quinn 3, Wellnitz 1
H-Linscheid 3, A. Michek 1