Rams Control Their Destiny in Region 5

After a come from behind 68-65 victory against Bonneville, the boys basketball team is now sitting on top of Region 5 with Woods Cross who is also 5-1 in Region play. The Rams were down 18 points on Friday at one point in the 2ndquarter but cut that deficit to 10 at halftime. With a balanced attack, the Rams were able to erase this deficit in the 4th quarter and pull away from Bonneville.
The Rams are in a good spot at the halfway point in Region play to get one of the top seeds in the State Tournament but could also fall to one of the lower seeds. The Rams are on a three game winning streak and are playing the best basketball they have showed all season. Unlike most teams in the region, the Rams have multiple scorers that can contribute at any time. Seniors Jayden Palauni, Rick Schmidt, Brevin Elsholz, Ryan Lamsbon, and Will Trice who are the five starters all scored in double figures on Friday and were also the only ones to score.
“Most teams only have one or two guys that consistently score in double figures every night and we have been playing very well together and sharing the ball which has resulted in some close region wins,” Schmidt said.
During the Olympus tournament at the end of the December, the Rams lost four games in a row all to teams that hope to contend for the state title. During this skid, Lambsonsuffered a knee injury that took him out of some key games. But, as soon as he came back, Highland turned their season around. This began with a key Region win at Bountiful which snapped Bountiful’s 49 game region win streak. Since then, Highland had a 2OT win in the annual “Freak East” game but then lost to Woods Cross suffering from a hangover after the East win. Consecutive wins against Box Elder, Ogden, and Bonneville.
“If we keep playing together and playing good defense, we have a good chance of taking this region,” Palauni said.
The sky is the limit for these Rams.
“We can’t have any bad losses or get selfish because that’s when we are most vulnerable,” Palauni said.
Highland is back in action on February 2 at rival, East. They hope to keep their win streak alive and hold their lead in Region 5.