HIGHLAND, Kan. - Coming into the contest off a gritty win over Southeast Community College last week, (RV) Highland Community College (6-4) kept the pressure on no. 16 Iowa Western Community College (7-2) throughout the first half, but hit a second-half shooting lull that allowed the Reivers to pull away for a 70-49 win. Tavian Tate played all 40 minutes for the Scotties and led the team with 15 points on the night.

Justin Burns opened the contest with a big win on the jump ball, outleaping Iowa Western's 7-2 center Madelo Deng then knocking down the first basket of the game off an assist by Izyr Hester, but the Reivers were able to respond with 12 unanswered points to take a 12-2 lead inside the opening four minutes.

Highland finally found its shooting touch after the under-8 media timeout, as Tate knocked down a pair of free throws to spark a 12-0 run for the home team and tie the game at 25-25 with 5:01 left in the first half. A back-and-forth battle over the final minutes of the first half stretched into the first five minutes of the second half, with Highland tying the game at 38-38 after trailing 33-31 at the break.

But after settling into a rhythm to close out the first half and start the second, Highland found itself out of sorts again, hitting just 3-11 from the floor over a 8:04 stretch, opening up a 58-46 deficit. Iowa Western hit 8-of-10 from the floor - including 2-2 from three-point range - during the 20-8 run. Even as the Scotties managed to temper the hot-shooting Reivers offense in the closing minutes, they couldn't make up ground as HCC's shooting doldrums continued.

The Scotties are on the road to close out the 2024 calendar, with a short jaunt to Kansas City first on the docket. Highland will take on Metropolitan Community College in a 7 p.m. tip on Tuesday, Dec. 3.