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By Levi Zimmerman
In Six Rivers - West play, Highland boys basketball was defeated by Benton Thursday, 65-63.
In a back-and-forth battle, the Cardinals managed to take a 32-29 lead into halftime.
The Zephyrs hung on late, with missed free throws giving Highland chances to send the game into overtime or leave with the victory, but turnovers by the Cardinals down the stretch didn't allow that to happen.
Senior Max Oleson led Highland with 22 points, scoring 11 in both halves, including a couple three-point field goals.
Senior Weston Frost had 14 points, with seven, two-point baskets.
Junior Sam Talo scored five points in the first half, with a basket and three free throws.
Benton was led by Rex Blaine, who scored 16 of 23 points in the second half.
The Cardinals did a better job in the first half keeping Blaine in check, but he was able to get free for quality looks in the second.
Nathan Keleher led the Zephyrs with nine first-half points; Keleher added seven in the second half to go for 16 for the game.
Chad Haffele added 12 points, including hitting two, three-pointers.
Highland head coach Shaun Reuter said he liked how the Cardinals performed this time around, as they lossed 70-58 against Benton on December 21.
"It was competitive and back-and-forth the whole time. Even though we lossed, I thought we played well. They just played better," Reuter stated.
The Cardinals had 12 turnovers Thursday night, which was welcomed by Reuter, who said they took care of the ball most of the time, despite at the end.
"We were executing well, but we turned it over with seconds left. We set up our play, but we just didn't get a good inbound pass. We had chances but couldn't execute when it mattered," he said.
Prior to the loss, Highland was riding a four-game winning streak.
The Cardinals moved to 12-9, overall, and 5-5 in the West.
SCORE BY HALVES
Highland 32 31 63
Benton 29 36 65
BOX SCORE
HIGHLAND 63: (fg-ft-tp)
Oleson 10-0-22, Esser 3-2-8, C. Frost 0-0-0, Healy 3-0-6, W. Frost 7-0-14, Br. Smith 0-0-0, Talo 1-3-5, Welsh 3-2-8. Totals- 27-7/8-63 Fouls- 16
BENTON 65:
Haffele 5-0-12, Jansen 3-0-6, Lawrence 3-0-6, E. Blaine 1-0-2, Keleher 6-4-16, R. Blaine 8-3-23. Totals- 26-7/13-65 Fouls- 9
3 point goals:
HIGHLAND (2)- Oleson 2
BENTON (6)- R. Blaine 4, Haffele 2