Going into Wednesday night’s game, the Rams were riding high. Coming off a 21-point victory over Bountiful on Tuesday, Highland was playing some of its best basketball of the season. But this semifinal matchup was going to be a big one, and Brighton came in feeling pretty good themselves.
The Bengals played very up and down throughout region play finishing just 6-6 but they came into Wednesday on fire. They had just taken down number one seeded Orem, and they were playing very tough, physical basketball.
But it was not enough. Highland, using a dominant fourth quarter, beat down the Bengals, 65-46, and advanced to the title game.
It was an easier-than-expected win. Highland and Brighton split games during the regular season, but the game that Brighton won really stuck with Highland. Brighton came out super physical and super tough and they stuck it to Highland in the second half during the loss earlier in the year.
“We knew they were super physical, super tough, and super competitive,” Highland Coach Chris Jones said. “At their place they beat us up, and they bullied us in the second half, so we showed our guys all those clips of getting beaten to the ball.”
The film from that Brighton game back in January served as strong motivation for the Rams. They came out physical and were ready to play.
“They beat us last time, so we had a chip on our shoulder,” senior guard Jack Anderton said. “We came in tonight ready to prove something.”
Highland opened the first quarter playing very strong defense. They managed to hold Brighton to only six points in the first quarter which was largely due to their help side defense and aggressive rebounding.
They ended the quarter up 12-6 but the offense was ready to catch fire. Senior Charlie “Apple” Hodge came off the bench in the second quarter and hit two big threes that sparked a run for the Rams.
“It felt good to get the team going you know,” Hodge said. “I felt like I had increased confidence out there with the big stage and the big crowd, it just felt good.”
Highland was handling the ball really well towards the end of the second quarter and they held a strong lead going into halftime up 28-19. The Rams remained strong on defense holding Brighton under 20 points at the half. They did a great job of limiting opportunities for Brighton’s top scores by playing strong help side defense.
“The game plan going in was to shut down 1 and 10,” Hodge said. “And I felt like we did a really good job of that.”
Coming out of the half, the Rams looked to keep their momentum going and put Brighton away. The Bengals showed some more life in the third quarter and went on a little run. But the Rams remained strong with the ball and executed their game plan.
“We had stretches where we were special good,” Jones said. “We spread them out, ran the pick and roll, got open shots and made plays. It was fantastic.”
Highland increased their lead in the fourth quarter and kept executing at a very high level. They made a couple more threes, going up 53-38 with 5 minutes remaining, which put Brighton away.
The Bengals played a tough physical game, but overall, Highland’s offense was too much for them to keep up with. The final score of the game was 65-46 for the Rams, and the spirits were high.
“We played hard. We knew they were a scrappy team, so we matched their physicality and got into them,” Anderton said. “They were relentless, so we just had to stay committed on defense and we got the job done.”
Many players on Highland were especially happy after the game because last year Highland fell short on this same stage. They had a brutal loss in the semifinal last year against Olympus, so this was a big hump for them to overcome.
“We got here last year and fell short, but sometimes you have to get there before you really get there.” Jones said. “And last year these guys were hurting when we lost, so they’ve been fighting and building all year and now we get a chance.”
The Rams are set to face off against the Olympus Titans on Friday night for the state title game. It will definitely be a tough matchup, but Highland is playing at their very best, and they will be prepared to get revenge for last year.
“We’ve been getting better all season, I feel like we’re just hitting our peak, and we’re playing our best basketball right now,” Anderton said. “I feel like we’ve got a great chance to go out there Friday night and get a win.”
