In the opening round of the 4A state tournament, Highland was defeated by the Orem Tigers by the score of 50-42. It was a low scoring game that was full of physical fouls and loose balls.

Orem shot 50% from the field that helped them push away from the Rams. The Tigers were led by their 6-11, 265 lb center Richard Harward who finished with 16 points.

Highland attempted 16 more shots than Orem but only made 18 of their 50 field goals including 3-13 from the three-point line. Highland was led by their star, Brandon Warr, who finished with a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

“Our shots weren’t falling and that’s what hurt us the most, we worked hard and I thought gave our best effort and the outcome didn’t fall in our favor,” Warr said.

Orem gained a quick fourth quarter lead of ten but after converting on a couple turnovers, Highland clawed back to cut Orem’s lead to 41-36 after a 3-pointer by Warr.

Highland then cut Orem’s lead 44-40 after but Highland couldn’t hit the big shot that they needed to take the lead. They had two very good looks but neither shot dropped.

A dunk by Richard Harward pushed Orem’s lead to 46-40 with just less a minute remaining put the game out of reach for the Rams.

“We played hard. Got great looks just couldn’t make the shots we needed to win,” Senior Spencer Divver said.

Highland struggled with foul trouble early in the game with both Warr and Rick Schmidt drawing two fouls early in the second quarter. Schmidt was forced to go back to the bench in the third after committing another foul early in the quarter. Forcing the Rams to go deep into their bench.

“I thought we worked hard and played together. Orem had some kids that were hard to stop,” Warr said.

Though Highland shot 16 more field goals, Orem had an advantage at the foul line finishing with 13 more attempts than the Rams.

Orem will now move on the quarterfinals of the 4A state tournament, facing Timpview.