Highland suffered their first region loss this Friday, losing to Woods Cross 69-53. The Rams were coming off a 2-0 start in region play, beating Bountiful who had won 50 straight region games and a double overtime win against crosstown rival, East.

Highland continued this momentum in the first half against Woods Cross who is still undefeated in region play. Woods cross held a two point lead, 32-30, going into the locker room. At this point in the game no team seemed to be able to break away from the other, going back and forth on the scoreboard.

Though in the second half, Woods Cross pulled away from the Rams with an up-tempo offense and a defense that created many costly turnovers for the Rams. The Wildcats began to pull away in the third quarter after outscoring Highland 20-12 in the period. Then cruised in the fourth quarter, winning by a comfortable sixteen points.

Like Senior Ryan Lambson said after the game, “Every game in our region like this because everyone is good and we need to expect a fight every night,” Lambson said.

Highland relied on the sharp shooting of point guard, Brevin Elsholz, who finished with 21 points which included 3 3-Pointers. On the defensive side, Highland struggled to contain Woods Cross’ Trevin Knell and Cameron Allen. Knell hit 5 3-Pointers and finished with 24 points, while Cameron finished with 20 himself.

The game was closer than it appeared on the scoreboard, Highland had its opportunities in the second half and would shorten the Woods Cross lead. But, it seemed either Knell or Allen would knock down a tough shot to kill the momentum. The Rams tried to give Woods Cross more pressure on the defensive side and always had a man following Knell. At some points in the second half, Knell was double teamed most of the times he get the ball to try to get the ball out of his hands.

Highland star Ryan Lambson had his first start since coming off a knee injury.

“We just need to relax and take better shots. Luckily we’ll get to play them in a few weeks,” Lambson said.

Though it was a tough loss, the Rams have everything they want to achieve in their reach. Every game will be crucial in the tough Region 5.

Rams are back in action on Tuesday @ Box Elder who is 1-1 in Region play.